Nairobi — The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has been ordered to rectify and republish its tender for the supply and maintenance of KIEMS kits after the procurement watchdog cited material deficiencies in some of the tender's technical specifications and evaluation criteria.

The Public Procurement Administrative Review Board allowed in part a request for review filed by Galadirel Investments Limited challenging IEBC Tender No. IEBC/OIT/01/2026-2027 for the supply, delivery, installation, testing, commissioning, support and maintenance of the Integrated Elections Management System (IEMS), hardware equipment and accessories.

The Board found deficiencies in the identification of applicable standards, requirements for international tenderers and the allocation of technical evaluation scores.

It also cited uncertainty in the post-qualification and contract award provisions, requirements for demonstrating the qualifications of key personnel and provisions on hardware and technology ownership.

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The Board said the deficiencies affected the clarity and objectivity of the tender document and could undermine fairness, transparency and equal treatment of bidders.

It directed IEBC to make the necessary corrections, clarifications and amendments before proceeding with the procurement.

The commission has also been ordered to issue and publish a new compliant tender document and give prospective bidders at least seven days to consider the amendments and submit their bids.

The Board said IEBC may seek technical advice from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) when reviewing the tender document.

The procurement proceedings had been suspended after Galadirel Investments filed the request for review on August 14, 2026.

The Board also found that a requirement for a performance security of 20 percent of the contract price for unbalanced tenders was contrary to the law, although IEBC said it had already corrected the requirement through an addendum.

Other complaints, including the Sh30 million tender security, exclusion of a margin of preference, tender quantities and scope, compatibility and interoperability requirements, and alleged tailoring of the tender in favour of Miru Systems Limited, were not proved.