Kenya's 2022 Election Budget: How KSh 40 Billion Was Spent

Running a general election in Kenya costs more than the annual budgets of 15 counties combined. The 2022 election cost KSh 40.9 billion. Here is where every shilling went.

The Top-Line Numbers

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission received a total allocation of KSh 40.9 billion for the 2022 general election cycle. This covered operations from voter registration (which began in 2021) through post-election activities including by-elections and dispute resolution support. The figure represented approximately 1.2% of the national budget for the 2021/2022 fiscal year.

To put this in perspective: the cost per registered voter was approximately KSh 1,850 (about USD 15.40 at 2022 exchange rates). The cost per actual voter (those who showed up) was KSh 2,856 (about USD 23.80). By African standards, this is among the highest, though comparable to South Africa's 2019 election at approximately USD 20 per voter.

The Budget Breakdown

IEBC's expenditure can be broken down into six major categories:

1. Technology and Equipment: KSh 14.2 billion (34.7%)

The largest single expenditure category was technology. This included:

• KIEMS kits: KSh 7.2 billion for 55,200 devices (approximately KSh 130,000 per kit), including procurement, configuration, testing, and deployment.
• Results transmission system: KSh 2.8 billion for the backend infrastructure, including servers, network equipment, and the public results portal.
• Voter registration technology: KSh 1.9 billion for biometric voter registration kits and the electronic voter register.
• Ballot printing: KSh 2.3 billion for printing six ballot papers for each of the 22.1 million registered voters, plus extras.

2. Staffing and Training: KSh 10.8 billion (26.4%)

The second-largest cost was human resources:

• Temporary election staff: KSh 7.6 billion to recruit, train, and compensate approximately 300,000 temporary workers. Presiding officers earned KSh 12,000 per day, deputy presiding officers KSh 10,000, and clerks KSh 8,000.
• IEBC permanent staff overtime: KSh 1.4 billion for overtime, hardship allowances, and election-period supplements for IEBC's approximately 4,500 permanent staff.
• Training: KSh 1.8 billion for training election officials, including venue hire, training materials, and per diem for trainers.

3. Logistics and Transport: KSh 6.9 billion (16.9%)

Moving materials across Kenya's vast geography consumed significant resources:

• Vehicle hire and fuel: KSh 3.2 billion. IEBC hired approximately 8,000 vehicles for the election period.
• Air transport: KSh 1.1 billion for helicopter charters (14 helicopters) and air freight to remote locations.
• Warehousing: KSh 0.9 billion for central and county-level storage facilities.
• Distribution chain: KSh 1.7 billion for the cascading distribution of materials from central to county to constituency to polling station level.

4. Security: KSh 4.8 billion (11.7%)

While security deployment was managed by the National Police Service, IEBC contributed to security costs:

• Polling station security infrastructure: KSh 2.1 billion for barricades, lighting, and access control at 46,229 stations.
• Material security: KSh 1.4 billion for securing ballot papers, KIEMS kits, and results forms during transport and storage.
• Tallying centre security: KSh 1.3 billion for the 290 constituency and 47 county tallying centres, plus the national tallying centre at Bomas of Kenya.

Note: The Kenya Police Service spent an additional estimated KSh 8-10 billion on election security from its own budget, covering the deployment of 150,000 officers. This is not included in IEBC's KSh 40.9 billion.

5. Voter Education and Public Outreach: KSh 2.4 billion (5.9%)

• Media campaigns: KSh 1.2 billion for television, radio, and print advertising on voter registration, voting procedures, and results declaration.
• Community engagement: KSh 0.7 billion for grassroots voter education through civil society organizations and community groups.
• Digital outreach: KSh 0.5 billion for social media campaigns, the IEBC website, and SMS-based voter information systems.

6. Administration and Other: KSh 1.8 billion (4.4%)

• Legal costs: KSh 0.6 billion for election dispute support, including legal counsel for IEBC in the 242 petitions filed after the election.
• Coordination: KSh 0.5 billion for stakeholder engagement, observer accreditation, and international coordination.
• Contingency and miscellaneous: KSh 0.7 billion.

How Kenya Compares

Kenya's election cost per voter is high by African standards but not exceptional by global standards:

• Kenya 2022: ~USD 23.80 per actual voter
• Nigeria 2023: ~USD 17.50 per actual voter
• South Africa 2019: ~USD 20.00 per actual voter
• Ghana 2020: ~USD 12.30 per actual voter
• India 2019: ~USD 8.60 per actual voter (benefiting from scale)
• United States 2020: ~USD 41.00 per actual voter (federal costs only)

The high per-voter cost in Kenya reflects several factors: the complexity of running six simultaneous elections (president, governor, senator, MP, women rep, MCA), the geographic challenge of reaching remote areas, and the investment in biometric technology. Countries that run fewer simultaneous races have lower per-voter costs.

Cost Trends: 2013 to 2022

Election costs in Kenya have risen steadily:

• 2013: KSh 27.5 billion (with repeat presidential election: KSh 33 billion total)
• 2017: KSh 38.0 billion (with nullified and repeat presidential election: KSh 50 billion total)
• 2022: KSh 40.9 billion (no repeat presidential election)

The 2022 figure is actually a relative improvement when adjusted for inflation. In real 2013 shillings, the 2022 cost was roughly equivalent to KSh 30 billion, representing a modest increase from 2013 despite significantly more polling stations (46,229 vs 33,400) and more advanced technology.

What Needs to Change for 2027

Several recommendations emerge from the 2022 budget analysis:

1. KIEMS kit reuse: The 55,200 kits purchased for 2022 should be refurbished for 2027, potentially saving KSh 5-7 billion in technology costs.
2. Timely staff payments: The delayed payments to temporary workers in 2022 created institutional damage. Budgeting for prompt payment should be a priority.
3. Logistics optimization: Better pre-positioning of materials and partnerships with existing logistics providers could reduce transport costs.
4. Digital voter education: Shifting more voter education to digital channels (cheaper and more targeted) could reduce outreach costs while improving effectiveness.