Eight firms battle for ballot tender

The search for a supplier for ballot papers for this year's elections is in a crucial stage after eight firms returned the bid papers to the electoral agency.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had invited firms that had participated in the cancelled process plus any other firms interested to supply the 120 million ballot papers for Sh2.5 billion.

The tender documents were opened last Thursday and an evaluation process began immediately. The evaluation team was given seven days to complete the process of picking the most suitable firm. A total of 13 firms indicated their interest but by last week, only eight had returned their bid documents.

Among those which are being considered include Dubai based Al Ghurair Printing and Publishing, India's G.I Solutions, Kenya's Ellams Products Limited, UK's Tall Security Printing, South Africa's Uniprint, Eabaltijas of Lativia, Germany's Print Promotion and Kenya's Africa Infrastructure and Development Company.

Suitable supplier

"We are already late and we hope by next week, we will have identified the suitable supplier," IEBC boss Ezra Chiloba said.

The electoral agency is handling the process with caution to avoid further litigation which may throw the preparations for election into disarray.

The commission is said to have asked the evaluation team to apply due diligence and seal any loopholes that may open floodgates of court cases, especially since the same tender was cancelled by the high court.

Al Ghuarair now have to fight to clear perceptions that they had influenced the earlier process, with the claims having been made at the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board.

South Africa's Pearl Media had claimed that Al Ghuarair can print a maximum of two million ballot papers per day yet the tender requires 120 million in 30 days.