Voters queue to cast their votes at AC Ol Kalou Primary School polling station during the Ol Kalou by-election on July 16, 2026.
Kenya’s elections have always come with their own soundtrack. Songs, riddles and slogans have become campaign staples, from “Unbwogable” in 2002 to “Chungwa” in 2007 and “Tibim” in 2017, capturing the mood and energy of each political moment.
The projected bill raises a familiar question: what does Kenya’s election machinery cost the public, and what does that spending buy voters in return?
But beneath the music and spectacle lies a more consequential contest: who can afford to run, and how much money can be poured into winning votes?
With Kenya battling high public debt and shortages in health, education and other essential services, the billions spent on elections — by both the electoral agency and politicians — are under growing scrutiny.
When elections were largely a government function, and district commissioners served as returning officers between 1964 and 1991, the financial burden was different. The return of multiparty politics in 1992 transformed elections into an increasingly expensive enterprise.
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission chair Erastus Edung (center) flanked by fellow commissioners address the media at the commission offices in Nairobi on January 27, 2026.
In 2027, Kenya is set to hold its most expensive election yet. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is seeking Sh74.8 billion to conduct the polls, while candidates could spend at least Sh197.35 billion if they strictly observe the campaign limits.
Together, the two sums amount to Sh272.15 billion — more than half the Sh470.74 billion counties spent in the financial year ended June 30, 2025.
The figure is also greater than the Sh156.84 billion in county pending bills as at March 31, 2026. It exceeds allocations to several critical sectors in the latest national budget, including health (Sh177.2 billion), higher education (Sh163.9 billion), basic education (Sh136.6 billion), transport (Sh220.4 billion), agriculture, rural and urban development (Sh111.7 billion), and environment, water and natural resources (Sh121.2 billion).
Higher education loans and scholarships received Sh96.4 billion, while Junior Secondary School capitation was allocated Sh30.9 billion.
Since 2013, voters have elected six office-holders at national and county levels — the President and deputy president, MPs, senators, women representatives, governors and MCAs. In 2022, 16,105 candidates competed for 1,882 seats.
MCAs accounted for 12,998 candidates, followed by MPs at 2,135, women representatives at 360, senators at 342, governors at 266 and presidential candidates at four.
The Campaign Financing Regulations, 2026, prescribe how much candidates and political parties may spend. The formula considers population, which accounts for 70 per cent, and geographical area, which accounts for 30 per cent.
For 2027, spending by candidates could reach Sh18.35 billion for MCA contests, Sh23.59 billion for Senate races and Sh24.84 billion each for governors and women representatives, assuming the 2022 numbers recur.
The county-level caps vary sharply. Nairobi has the highest limit at Sh181 million, while Lamu has the lowest at Sh28 million. Turkana, Marsabit, Wajir and Kiambu have limits of Sh142 million, Sh127 million, Sh120 million and Sh110 million respectively.
For MPs, the aggregate could reach Sh53.38 billion if the 2,135 candidates who ran in 2022 contest again, based on a Sh25 million constituency cap.
For MCAs, the Sh5 million ward cap would produce a possible aggregate of about Sh65 billion if all 12,998 candidates returned.
Constituency limits range from Sh100 million in North Horr to Sh15 million in Wundanyi. The presidential spending limit has risen to Sh6.1 billion from Sh4.7 billion in 2022.
Kenya has averaged eight presidential candidates in elections since 1992. If that average returned in 2027, presidential candidates alone could spend about Sh48.8 billion at the Sh6.1 billion cap.
The number of candidates has risen steadily — from 12,776 in 2013 to 14,523 in 2017 and 16,105 in 2022. This suggests actual campaign expenditure could exceed the estimates, although the total amount spent by politicians remains private and largely unverified.
Political parties face a separate spending ceiling of Sh24.45 billion, with transport and logistics taking Sh16.1 billion, advertising and media Sh2.5 billion, and election agents Sh2 billion.
The figures illuminate where campaign money goes: transport, venues, publicity materials, advertising, campaign staff, agents, communication, security and accommodation.
In Likuyani, where the parliamentary spending cap is Sh21 million, MP Innocent Mugabe considers the limit unrealistic.
He cites merchandise, allowances, transport and security among the biggest expenses. A printed T-shirt costs between Sh300 and Sh700, he says, while security at a single rally can exceed Sh40,000. Fuel for at least 10 vehicles can cost Sh7,000 a day, besides food and reimbursements for people attending meetings and barazas.
“I spent around Sh50 million during the 2022 elections,” Mr Mugabe says. “A modest campaign can cost that, but if you want to win, then you must spend more.”
Uriri MP Mark Nyamita.
Uriri MP Mark Nyamita, who is seeking the Migori governorship, takes a different view. He considers the Sh20.7 million limit for his constituency realistic but questions the Sh61 million cap for Migori, which has eight constituencies.
He says campaign costs depend on name recognition, party affiliation, whether a candidate is entering politics for the first time and their track record.
Mr Nyamita spent nearly Sh20 million in his first parliamentary campaign but about Sh6.8 million during his re-election bid, which he attributes to his record, goodwill, stronger name recognition and greater familiarity with the political terrain.
“When someone is new in politics, they will spend more,” he says. He attributes the pressure to spend to weak social systems that have made voters dependent on political favours and handouts.
He also cautions voters against candidates willing to spend lavishly, arguing that excessive spending may be used to obscure poor performance or motives.
“The more someone spends, the more you need to question their motive,” he says, noting that an MP earning roughly Sh1 million a month would make about Sh60 million over five years.
IEBC says the contribution and spending limits are intended to promote fairness, transparency, accountability and a level playing field by ensuring electoral outcomes are determined by voters rather than disproportionate financial power. Candidates, parties, campaign teams and donors are required to comply with limits and rules on contributions, expenditure, record-keeping, disclosure and reporting.
Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi, who is also seeking the governorship, questions both the figures and their enforceability.
Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi.
For the 2027 election, the official campaign period will begin upon registration of candidates, but not before May 29, and end on August 7, two days before polling.
“IEBC needs to define the period because there are people who started campaigning immediately after the last elections,” Mr Osotsi says. He argues that if the rules cover only the formal campaign period, the Sh36.6 million limit for Vihiga would be sufficient.
His deeper concern is enforcement. Kenya remains heavily reliant on cash transactions, while some political contributions are made in kind, making expenditure difficult to track.
But the politicians’ spending is only one side of the bill. The IEBC itself is preparing for a more expensive election as the electorate grows.
IEBC Commissioner Anne Nderitu recently told Citizen TV that the cost of an election rises with the number of registered voters. The Commission is targeting 28.5 million voters in 2027, compared with 22.1 million in 2022.
As at August 20, 2026, 2,936,516 Kenyans had newly registered as voters, with another enhanced registration exercise planned. “As more Kenyans register to vote, the cost of providing the materials, personnel, technology and infrastructure required to serve them also rises,” Ms Nderitu said.
The projected increase in voters is expected to push polling stations from 46,229 in 2022 to 55,393 in 2027. That means thousands of additional officials, equipment and logistical arrangements.
Human resources, logistics and election materials are the main cost drivers. In 2022, IEBC recruited and trained more than 500,000 polling officials.
For 2027, the Commission plans to spend Sh9.2 billion on new Kenya Integrated Election Management System kits to replace obsolete equipment. A further Sh7.63 billion is budgeted for election officials and Sh6.8 billion for ballot papers, with voter registration, education, security, training and other logistics accounting for the balance.
The cost of elections has climbed dramatically since the return of multiparty politics. In 2002, the electoral commission spent Sh4.57 billion, or Sh436 per registered voter. The bill rose to Sh19.4 billion in 2007 and Sh24.3 billion in 2013.
In 2017, the election cost Sh38 billion, excluding the repeat presidential poll, which consumed about Sh15.5 billion. The 2022 election budget was Sh42.6 billion.
If IEBC spends the proposed Sh74.8 billion in 2027 and registers 28.5 million voters, the cost would be about Sh2,624 per voter, or $20.18.
That would place Kenya well above the often-cited international benchmark of $5 per voter. Tanzania’s 2025 election cost about $10 per voter, while Uganda’s 2026 figure is $18.25. Nigeria spent $5.7 per voter in 2023 and South Africa $4.5 in 2024.
Ghana’s 2024 figure was $2.18, Rwanda’s $0.68, Chile’s $1.2, Costa Rica’s $1.8 and Brazil’s $2.3.
Former IEBC chief executive James Oswago traces Kenya’s unusually high election costs to the political reforms of 1992, when the return to multipartyism created demand for an independent electoral commission — and, with it, a much larger electoral machinery.
The music may change with every election. The bill keeps getting louder.
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