The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) secretariat has floated at least 60 tenders, over the past 17 months, even as the commission awaits the swearing-in of new commissioners following a High Court suspension order.
The tenders, many of which are for goods and services under multi-year contracts, have been issued since January 2023, with some still open and others at various stages of award.
The procurement activity is unfolding in the absence of commissioners, whose six-year terms ended early last year, and just days after Parliament approved the nomination of a new IEBC chairperson and team.
Despite the halted swearing-in, preparations for the 2027 General Election are already underway. Tharaka MP Gitonga Murugara, who chairs the National Assembly's Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC), revealed that a proposal to allocate Sh57.1 billion to the commission has been tabled.
The proposed funds, to be spread across the 2025/2026, 2026/2027, and 2027/2028 financial years, would make the 2027 elections the most expensive not only in Kenya’s electoral history, but also among the costliest globally.
In the first year of the proposal (2025/2026), the IEBC is set to receive Sh9.3 billion, comprising Sh3.4 billion for routine operations, Sh5.12 billion for pre-election activities, and Sh0.8 billion for anticipated by-elections in at least 20 electoral areas.
“The committee observed that the IEBC runs one of the most expensive general elections in the world. The situation has been driven by high costs of election result transmission, foreign exchange losses, and emergency airlifting of strategic materials and staff,” Murugara said.
The commission has been operating without commissioners since January 2023, when the terms of the late Chairperson Wafula Chebukati and Commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu expired.
The 2022 General Election had triggered internal divisions, with four commissioners disowning the presidential results that declared UDA’s William Ruto the winner over Azimio's Raila Odinga. Juliana Cherera, Francis Wanderi and Justus Nyang’aya resigned, while Irene Masit was removed by a tribunal.
In the absence of a fully constituted commission, the secretariat, led by CEO Marjan Hussein Marjan, has continued to float tenders.
Among the ongoing and recently closed tenders is one for the supply and delivery of IEBC-branded indelible marker pens under a three-year framework contract. The open tender was floated on May 23, 2025, and closes on June 3, 2025. Another three-year contract, floated the same day, is for the supply of serialised IEBC official green security seals and will close on June 4, 2025.
On May 22, 2025, the secretariat also issued a tender inviting registration of suppliers for the provision of goods, works, and services for the period ending June 30, 2027. The deadline for submissions is June 5, 2025.
“Interested eligible suppliers within Nairobi City County are invited to apply for various categories. Applicants are advised to indicate the reference number for the category of goods or services they wish to provide,” reads the tender document.
Other tenders floated by the IEBC secretariat in recent months include a repair and maintenance services contract reserved for women, which was issued on May 21 and closed on May 30, 2025.
A one-year contract for the provision of medical insurance, Group Life Assurance, and Group Personal Accident cover for commissioners and staff also closed on May 13, 2025, with the contract set to run from June 23, 2025, to June 23, 2026.
The commission further sought to award a three-year residential security services contract that was advertised on April 30 and closed on May 14. A rolling supplier registration exercise for the provision of goods, services, and works concluded on May 13.
Additionally, a three-year cleaning services tender reserved for women, which closed on April 22, is currently in the award stage. Another tender for the supply of sisal twine and black/red ballpoint pens, reserved for Persons with Disabilities, closed earlier on March 13.
Looking ahead, the IEBC intends to register 6.3 million new voters to add to the existing 22.1 million ahead of the 2027 General Election. To facilitate this, the commission requires 59,352 KIEMS kits, 55,393 for polling stations and 3,959 for training.
To meet this demand, IEBC plans to replace 45,353 kits acquired in 2017, which are now considered obsolete. However, 14,000 KIEMS kits purchased in 2022 will be reused to cut down on costs.
Without a quorum, the secretariat cannot legally procure core election materials, conduct by-elections or referenda, redraw electoral boundaries, recruit senior managers, or confirm acting officials to substantive roles.
The prolonged leadership vacuum has sparked concern among electoral stakeholders, who have warned that without a fully functional commission, critical preparations for the 2027 polls could stall, potentially undermining their credibility.
