Former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chief Executive Officer James Oswago has called for a national conversation on how Kenya funds, prepares for and conducts elections, warning the country risks repeating the same mistakes every five years.
Speaking on Spice FM on Tuesday, August 11, Oswago questioned the rising cost of elections and the huge sums required by the IEBC ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The commission has requested Sh74.8 billion for the three-year electoral cycle. The National Treasury has allocated Sh41.3 billion, leaving a significant funding gap.
The easiest way to manipulate any institution is to starve it of funds, Oswago observed.
Parliament should not simply determine what the IEBC receives without considering what the commission requires to conduct a credible election, he added.
"The IEBC must be given room to arrive at its own budget, but on the other hand, it should be held accountable, to a larger extent, for the resources it has been allocated," he explained.
Oswago questioned whether Kenya is getting value for money, particularly in the repeated purchase of election equipment every five years instead of developing systems that can serve several election cycles.
"Whether it is a good thing to be buying this voting equipment after every five years at these exorbitant prices, whether there is value for money, whether it is effective or whether it is the route to go, is something that needs to be answered," he noted.
The conversation should not be left to the IEBC alone, he argued, saying Kenyans need to take an active role in determining how elections are conducted.
Oswago described the voter register as the commission's most critical asset and called for greater use of technology to protect its integrity.
"The voter register is the most critical asset that IEBC has. If you digitise the voter register, you are purging it of foreigners. It is important to have a digitisation mechanism to ensure the integrity of the voter register is protected. You cannot do without digitisation," he noted.
Digitisation should extend beyond individual elections, he continued, with Kenya developing systems that can serve the country for several election cycles.
He cited India and Brazil as countries that have developed electoral technology over time, saying Kenya needs to rethink its approach.
"We must have a conversation on the digitisation of the electoral process. This is a matter that cannot be left solely to IEBC to determine which aspects should be digitised and which should not," he observed.
Failure to equip the IEBC properly could later be used to explain shortcomings in the election, he warned.
"If we fail to procure the necessary equipment for the election, the IEBC will later claim that it delivered an unsatisfactory election because the machines were not available," he said.
A lack of sustained oversight of the commission could partly explain some of its challenges, Oswago noted.
"Once elections are done, everyone goes silent, only to have these conversations when the elections are near," he explained.
No particular ministry or individual is dedicated to continuously overseeing electoral preparedness, he added, while Kenyans also tend to lose interest once an election is over.
Oswago also called for reforms to the structure of the IEBC, saying commissioners should have enough time to gain experience before leaving office. The six-year term means commissioners leave just as they acquire the expertise needed to manage elections effectively, he said.
"It takes about two years to be sufficiently qualified to run an election. Commissioners should be given a longer tenure," he argued.
The challenges facing the IEBC go beyond the commission itself and require a national conversation involving political leaders, civil society, Parliament, the government and citizens ahead of the 2027 General Election, Oswago said.
"The problem is bigger than IEBC itself. It is a design issue that needs a larger conversation," he added.
