NATIONAL: The Electoral Commission wants extra 10.463 billion shillings for the enhancement of staff salaries to motivate workers and improve delivery of electoral services ahead of the 2026 general elections.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The appeal was made by the Chairperson Electoral Commission Justice Simon Byabakama, while appearing before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee to show the Commission’s 2025/26 Budget Framework Paper.
“The third and final installment of the staff enhancement which was enhanced by this Parliament in 2017 and the last installment was due in 2019/2020 financial year amounting to 10.463 billion shillings hasn’t been honoured to date. This has created a lot of anxiety among our staff. The Commission is therefore asking for additional resources to motivate staff and improve the delivery of electoral services.” Byabakama Noted.
The EC Chairperson further requested for extra 1.66 billion shillings for wages of returning officers in the new cities and Terego district, whose offices haven’t yet been operationalized due to absence of staff salaries.
“For a long time, the Commission also requires 1.66 billion shillings for remuneration of staff in the 10 new cities and Terego district. Up to now, we haven’t functionalized those new cities and Terego district and yet the law says, every district shall have a returning officer and assistant returning officer. When we go to the general elections, we can’t even import a returning officer from one district to another because every district will be so busy carrying out activities within the same time frame.” Byabakama added.
According to Chairperson Simon Byabakama, the inadequate funding puts the electoral process at risk highlighting a 623.9 billion shillings funding gap critical for the 2026 General Elections and other key activities.
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