The Treasury has not allocated any funds for the much-anticipated referendum if the budget presented to the National Assembly by Treasury CS Ukur Yatani is anything to go by.
According to the Acting CEO Hussein Marjan, the money allocated to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will be used in administration and preparation for next year’s August general elections.
“Referendum costs were not factored in when the Treasury Cabinet Secretary announced allocations to the IEBC. We handed over the spending plan to the Treasury before the courts stopped the BBI constitutional change push, but it has not been granted,” he said.
In the 2021/2022 financial year, CS Ukur Yatani has given the Commission Sh14.5 billion in the Sh3.6 trillion budget. In October last year, the electoral body told parliament it would need Sh14 billion to hold a referendum this year, with the ongoing clamor to have a First Amendment of the 2010 Constitution.
Despite not receiving the plebiscite money, Mr. Marjan says there was no cause for alarm and should a referendum be scheduled the commission had already prepared a budget for the excercise.
”There is no cause for alarm. Should a referendum be scheduled, we will handle it just like we do with by-elections. Normally, there are no budgets for mini-polls,” he added.
