IEBC Chairman Erastus Ethekon in his office at Anniversary Towers
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has suspended its tender for the new election technology yet again, piling fresh pressure on preparations for next year’s elections.
The commission halted proceedings for the supply, installation, testing, commissioning and maintenance of the Integrated Elections Management System (IEMS) after a fresh request for review was filed before the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board.
The suspension affects the tender which covers the hardware, equipment and accessories required for the system that will support key processes in the election.
Acting Commission Secretary and CEO Ruth Kulundu said the proceedings for the system, famously known as Kiems, had been suspended until further notice.
“IEBC hereby notifies all prospective bidders that the proceedings for the aforementioned tender have been suspended until further notice,” the notice states.
The latest setback comes barely weeks after the polls agency was ordered to review and republish an earlier version of the same procurement following a challenge by a prospective bidder.
The procurement review board in September directed IEBC to correct, clarify and amend various provisions of the tender before inviting fresh bids.
The board cited deficiencies in technical evaluation criteria, requirements for international bidders, post-qualification, and contract award.
IEBC subsequently published a revised tender on September 17, giving bidders until October 2 to submit their bids.
The fresh suspension means the electoral commission cannot proceed with the procurement until the latest challenge is addressed.
The development puts to the test IEBC's ability to complete the acquisition, testing and deployment of the technology in under 300 days.
Concerns are rife that the commission may not have sufficient time to adequately test the system.
Democratic Party leader Justin Muturi said they read ‘a pattern of glaring delays, technical gaps and unresolved procurement questions.’
He said there was a need for an independent scrutiny to establish whether the delays and technical gaps are simply administrative failures or whether there is deliberate interference aimed at frustrating the electoral process.
“The question we must now confront is, are we staring at sabotage of industrial scale at the IEBC?” he asked, adding that the technology testing is a “fundamental component of election preparedness that cannot be left until the last minute.”
Just the other day, IEBC suspended procurement for ballot papers, yet another critical procurement for the 2027 election, following a request for review.
The two suspended tenders leave the commission facing fresh uncertainty over key election supplies as it races against time to complete preparations for next year’s polls.
Poll experts hold that the delays could boil down to lack of preparedness on the part of the elections management agency.
“Delays in
procuring the kits basically leads to delays in preparations. We need time to
monitor the procurement process, test the kits and perhaps even pilot before
the elections. If this dilly dallying goes on we will miss out on the necessary
steps,"Elections Observation Group (ELOG) national coordinator Mule Musau said.
“The other major risk is that we might end up single sourcing because of limited time. That will bring concerns about the value for money for the venture and possible canvassing in the identification of the vendor,” Musau explained.
IEBC is replacing ageing KIEMS equipment bought for the 2017 election.
The agency told Parliament that 45,353 of the kits are due for replacement while 14,000 kits acquired in 2022 are expected to be reused.
IEBC has indicated it requires 59,352 kits for the election, comprising 55,393 kits for polling stations and another 3,959 for training.
The technology procurement, estimated to cost about Sh9 billion, is arguably one of the largest components of the commission’s election-preparation budget.
The latest procurement setback comes amid a funding shortage facing IEBC as it gears up for what’s shaping as would-be most contested polls.
Parliamentary Budget Office recently reported that the commission requires Sh48.7 billion for election preparations in the 2026-27 financial year but was allocated only Sh25 billion.
This leaves a Sh23.7 billion gap at a time when IEBC is expected to undertake voter registration, technology upgrades, election logistics and other preparations.
Electoral technology alone was allocated Sh4.7 billion against a requirement of Sh9.4 billion, according to the PBO.
The funding gap has already raised concerns about the pace at which the commission can replace ageing technology and undertake other critical preparations.
The latest tender suspension adds a separate procurement challenge to the financial constraints.
It also means IEBC must now await the outcome of Request for Review No. 192 before knowing when the latest procurement can resume.
The system is expected to support voter registration, candidate registration, voter identification and verification and transmission of election results.
The commission has also been pursuing other technology-related procurements, including RFID technology for KIEMS kits and a telecommunications network to support the equipment.
IEBC advertised a three-year tender in February for RFID technology at its Elections Technology Centre, while another procurement covered the KIEMS telecommunications network.
INSTANT ANALYSIS
IEBC’s immediate issue will be to resolve the latest procurement challenge while keeping other preparations on schedule. The commission has directed prospective bidders to monitor the Public Procurement Information Portal and its website for further communication on the tender. The notice gives no date for when the suspension will be lifted. Election preparations are already entering a critical phase, the latest challenge leaving IEBC with yet another hurdle to overcome.
