Nairobi Governor-elect Johnson Sakaja has revealed that he spent close to Ksh 15 million on the election day to pay his agents across all polling stations in Nairobi.
Speaking on Tuesday night during an interview with Citizen TV Sakaja criticized the Kenyan electoral system saying that it is expensive and a big burden to political candidates.
The newly elected governor of Nairobi stated that he spent Ksh 15 million to compensate his 3,643 agents at the various county polling places.
The vote tallying and verification exercise took up extra days, which Sakaja admitted he could not afford to pay his agents for. He added that his supporters provided service for free.
“We need to have an electronic transmission for our polls. I have just finished sorting out my agents. It cost me Ksh 15 million. I had 3,643 agents for 3 days of work the rest just volunteered,” he remarked.
Sakaja’s statements support a report by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KRHC) that stated that the August 9, 2022 election in Kenya would cost Ksh40.9 billion, making it one of the most costly elections in the world.
The money was spent throughout the campaign period and was used to support a variety of initiatives by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The KRHC noticed that the IEBC paid more for each ballot paper than a Kenyan shilling note.
The sheets had unique characteristics, including generic watermarks and the ability to prevent photocopying, which is the same printing method used to manufacture money notes.
The cost to the taxpayers of printing this year’s election was Ksh3.2 billion.
One of the main factors in Kenya’s expensive elections was the pay bill, and the Commission spent Ksh 6 billion on more than 11,000 temporary workers.
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