Kenyan election 'to be world's most expensive'

[Askari Kanzu]

Kenyan election 'to be world's most expensive'

A Kenyan citizen casts her vote during a constitutional referendum on August 4, 2010. The country's new constitution created several layers of government that will contribute to one of the world's costliest election per head during polls expected in March. Photo | FILE |


Kenya's general election in March next year is expected to be the most expensive in the world per head as the country grapples with high voter registration costs, administrative inefficiencies and the outright theft of funds.

Kenyan voters will vote for several layers of candidates after the country of 38 million in an August 2010 referendum passed a new constitution.

Estimates for the election recently presented by the east African country's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) place the cost at KSh36 billion ($427 million), translating to a cost per registered voter of KSh2,000 ($25), higher than any other on record.

The polls body, which initially sought Sh41.5 billion ($493 million), has been pressing its case for funding all last week before the country's parliamentary Justice and Legal Affairs committee. But Kenyan Treasury officials have offered only KSh17.5 billion ($207.5 million), terming the IEBC's request as excessive.

A commission formed to look into the conduct of a disputed presidential election in 2007 reported that the KSh19.4 billion ($230 million) the defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya spent between the 2005 and 2008 was higher than those of “very special cases of post-conflict countries.”

The Independent Review Commission, chaired by former South African judge Johan Kriegler, placed the cost of the election per registered voter at $20.4 (or $29 per cast ballot).

Low electoral costs stand at between $1 and $3, according to the Kriegler report and are recorded for countries with longer electoral experience like the United States and most Western European countries.

Others are Chile KSh103 ($1.2), Costa Rica KSh154 ($ 1.8) and Brazil KSh197 ($2.3) in Latin America and KSh60 ($0.7) in Ghana.

Full story (nation.co.ke)

 

[mwathai]

Kenyan election 'to be world's most expensive'

A Kenyan citizen casts her vote during a constitutional referendum on August 4, 2010. The country's new constitution created several layers of government that will contribute to one of the world's costliest election per head during polls expected in March. Photo | FILE |


Kenya's general election in March next year is expected to be the most expensive in the world per head as the country grapples with high voter registration costs, administrative inefficiencies and the outright theft of funds.

Kenyan voters will vote for several layers of candidates after the country of 38 million in an August 2010 referendum passed a new constitution.

Estimates for the election recently presented by the east African country's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) place the cost at KSh36 billion ($427 million), translating to a cost per registered voter of KSh2,000 ($25), higher than any other on record.

The polls body, which initially sought Sh41.5 billion ($493 million), has been pressing its case for funding all last week before the country's parliamentary Justice and Legal Affairs committee. But Kenyan Treasury officials have offered only KSh17.5 billion ($207.5 million), terming the IEBC's request as excessive.

A commission formed to look into the conduct of a disputed presidential election in 2007 reported that the KSh19.4 billion ($230 million) the defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya spent between the 2005 and 2008 was higher than those of "very special cases of post-conflict countries."

The Independent Review Commission, chaired by former South African judge Johan Kriegler, placed the cost of the election per registered voter at $20.4 (or $29 per cast ballot).

Low electoral costs stand at between $1 and $3, according to the Kriegler report and are recorded for countries with longer electoral experience like the United States and most Western European countries.

Others are Chile KSh103 ($1.2), Costa Rica KSh154 ($ 1.8) and Brazil KSh197 ($2.3) in Latin America and KSh60 ($0.7) in Ghana.

Full story (nation.co.ke)

We Kenyans seem to be fond of investing a lot of timer, energy and money on politics. Take it from me, one day we shall wish we did things differently. I hear the election will cost some Kshs 36 billion. That kind of money would build an estimated 1800 KM of road at kshs 20 million per KM which would increase productivity in our country.
Time to get our priorities right.

 

[bona]

i think it will also b the most dangerous!