President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) is set to splash Sh260 million and deploy about 54,000 poll officials in its massive grassroots elections scheduled to begin next week.
The details of the exercise emerged on Wednesday when Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, chaired the party’s National Steering Committee and National Elections Board, where the budget for the four-phased elections running from April to August was discussed.
Top party officials told the Nation that the ruling outfit was pulling all the stops to ensure a credible exercise and avert any political fallout that may result from a bungled poll.
This, even as the party postponed elections in Garissa and Isiolo to June and August, respectively to allow sufficient time for preparations following the Holy Month of Ramadan.
The two counties were among the seven listed for April 26, alongside Nairobi, Narok, West-Pokot, Busia and Homa Bay counties.
UDA Secretary General Cleophas Malala disclosed that the party will deploy a poll clerk and a presiding officer in each of the polling centre across the country.
There are a total of 27,397 registration centres in the country. Each of the polling centres will also have a tablet.
The ruling party is said to have staggered the exercise to cut on the cost of procuring the tablets for digital voting. The party is said to have spent Sh100 million in procuring the tablets, estimated to cost Sh25,000 each.
“We will have one clerk and one presiding officer in all the 27,000 polling centres. So we are looking at a total of 54,000 poll officials,” Mr Malala said.
KRA chair Anthony Mwaura.
Photo credit: File
“We are doing everything within our means to have free, fair and credible elections. The National Elections Board is burning midnight oil to have everything in place,” the Secretary General said.
The party’s National Organising Secretary Vincent Musyoka Kawaya said the outfit has allocated Sh260 million for the exercise at the polling centres.
Another Sh25 million will also be spent at the ward, constituency and county levels.
“Our Wednesday meeting discussed the nitty-gritties for the counties in phase one of our elections to ensure the process is credible. We deliberated on budget considerations for the election board,” said Mr Kawaya.
“For the grassroots elections that will be conducted in all the polling centres across the country, we have allocated Sh260 million. Elections at the wards, constituencies and counties will cost between Sh20 million and 25 million,” he disclosed.
The Mwala MP explained that the cost at the polling centre level may reduce since they expect some centres to elect their officials unopposed. This he said will bring down the budget.
“The Sh260 million is on the upper side. We expect to spend less because there are areas we don’t expect competition. This means what we will save at the polling centre level will cater for the elections in the subsequent levels,” he said.
He said that the tablets have been configured to work offline to avoid challenges associated with network breakdown.
Following the Wednesday evening meeting, Mr Gachagua said they are putting in place all necessary arrangements to ensure the exercise is credible.
“Free and fair elections call for elaborate preparations for verifiable outcomes that meet the highest standards of democracy. Preparations for the grassroots elections for our party, UDA, are in top gear,” said Mr Gachagua.
The party is likely to pocket more than Sh300 million from fees payable by its members seeking to participate in the exercise.
President William Ruto addressing delegates during the UDA National Governing Council meeting at the Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi on September 29, 2023.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Thousands of party members expected to contest for various positions from polling centre level up to the national are required to pay between Sh200 and Sh50,000. The party has indicated that the fee payable by aspirants is non-refundable.
At the polling centre level, the ruling party seeks to elect a total of 20 officials, with every member gunning for the slots required to pay Sh200 as fee.
This implies that should the 27,397 centres attract just two aspirants for each of the 20 contested positions, UDA will collect Sh219 million at the village level.
A document prepared by the party titled ‘Grassroot Election Guide’ shows that at the polling centre level, party members will elect three representatives of religious groups, traders (fours), professionals (three), youth (four), Special Interest Groups (One), farmers (three)as well as two party members – a woman and a man.
At the ward level, the party has declared 18 positions. Those seeking to run at the 1,450 wards across the country are required to pay Sh1000 each.
Should each of the wards attract just two candidates for each of the 18 positions, the party will pocket a total of Sh52 million.
The positions to be contested for at ward level include chairperson and deputy chairperson, secretary and deputy secretary, treasurer, organising secretary, representatives of youth, women, PWDs, MSMEs, farmers, religious groups, professionals and seven members with at least three of the opposite gender.
Only elected or nominated UDA Member of County Assembly (MCA) or elected officials at the polling centre are eligible to contest at this level.
President William Ruto (right), Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua at the Bomas of Kenya during the UDA National Governing Council meeting on September 29, 2023.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
Another 18 positions have also been declared at the constituency level, with candidates required to pay Sh2,000 before they can be cleared to run in the 290 constituencies.
Assuming each of the seats attract at least two candidates, the party will pocket about Sh20 million.
The party has further declared 18 positions to be contested for in each of the 47 counties. Party members seeking to run for county chairperson and deputy chairperson are required to pay Sh20,000 while those gunning for county secretary and deputy secretary as well as county treasurer and organising secretary are each required to pay Sh10,000.
Other county officials are required to pay Sh5,000. Should the positions at the county level attract at least two candidates, the party is set to collect about Sh13 million. Those seeking to run at the national level will each pay Sh50,000.
Some of the aspirants cried foul, saying they were rigged out, however some have found a soft landing, either through nominations or appointment by Dr Ruto to government jobs.
