Corrupt candidates make Kenya elections costly
Kenya’s 2027 elections are likely to remain the most expensive in the world if the NIMD Kenya findings released this week are accurate. Published with six other civic organisations, the report identifies low public trust as a major factor in the inflated costs. What else can voters and policymakers do to prevent the State squandering Sh 61.7 billion of taxpayers’ money?
The NIMD Kenya “Cost of Elections” report is sobering reading. With Sh 57 billion approved out of the Sh 61 billion requested by the Electoral Commission (IEBC), the 2027 six-level elections will be even more expensive than the August 2017 General Elections and the November rerun together. That election cost taxpayers Sh 1,649 (US$ 13) for each registered voter and Sh 2,566 (US$ 20) for everyone who bothered to come out and exercise their right to vote. Kenyan elections cost more than two times or four times the global benchmark of US$ 5 per voter.
Elections are run on fixed costs, kind of like, how you and I, throw social parties. The costs of catering and decoration don’t get cheaper if 30 per cent of your invited guests don’t show up. Wastage is one of the hidden costs of poor voter turn-out. The cost is not however borne by the IEBC. It is borne by us all, the registered voter, the unregistered citizen and the no-shows.
The report persuasively argues that electoral costs are high because we don’t trust the executive, electoral commission, technology, candidates and our fellow voters, in short, the entire electoral eco-system. In order to approach the electoral standard set by Article 81 of the constitution that all who are eligible to vote must be allowed to do so in an environment that is free of bribery, intimidation and fear, the state compensates by procuring bloated ICT systems, excessive security operations, multiple laws, and several oversight and dispute mechanisms.
The DCI and IEBC's denial of KTN's exposé on cross-border voter registration in Uganda remains unconvincing coming so soon after two high-ranking Cabinet Secretaries Kipchumba Murkomen and Aden Duale singled out those living in Uganda and Somalia to come out and register. A public bi-partisan investigative parliamentary hearing is urgently needed to gather evidence, substantiate or invalidate these allegations.
The multiple off-budget costs demonstrate the problem we face is more political and less technical. South Consulting estimates that parliamentary, county assembly and gubernatorial candidates may spend Sh 23.4 million, Sh 3.9 million and Sh 350 million on average to win their seats. That MPs are both willing and able to spend 245 per cent of their annual salary to get elected puts this in perspective.
Public expectation that the Election Campaign Finance Act and the IEBC’s gazetted spending limits would rein in campaign excesses, reduce power monopolies and make campaign financing more transparent, will not be met in my view. The ceilings remain prohibitively high enough to keep these positions beyond the reach of most citizens.
There may be some good news. In recent months, Boniface Mwangi’s money-festo banknotes and Linda Mwananchi and other rallies indicate a return to more organic crowds, rather than the rent-a-crowd 2022 campaigns. This could be the one political class conspiracy against the people I would support.
The elephant in the kitchen is corruption, and we need to address it squarely. Elections resemble those cattle auctions popular in the rural counties. Candidates willingly traffic themselves to wealthy and shady benefactors. Once bought, candidates are bonded to a repayment plan that requires them to pass bills or share procurement deals. Corruption runs through our electoral system like a clogged artery. It inflates our election costs as it starves them of quality, credibility and public trust.
Until we can red-card the corrupt, Kenya’s Corruption Perceptions Index ranking (130/180) will not improve, and elections will remain existential moments. As always, the ball is in the citizens' court. Register as a voter, join a political party, turn out on election day and vote for the cleanest candidate available. It may be the cheapest way to save the country a fortune.
This opinion was also published in the Saturday Standard, 26 September 2026.
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