Sunday, November 15, 2020 – The Government of President Uhuru Kenyatta has barred direct financing of the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The communication was sent to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which has been involved in election support programmes, ahead of the 2022 polls.
The move is believed to be aimed at minimizing foreign influence on election matters in the country.
UNDP, which manages the election funding, confirmed receipt of the letter.
The document was written in response to one of the donors who sought clearance to send funds to the commission in a programme that would have lasted up to the 2022 polls and beyond.
This comes as a blow to the commission as one of the IEBC officials admitted that running the elections without donor funding would be an uphill task.
A source from the Foreign Ministry, who sought anonymity, noted that the government through the letter had also declined to give the go-ahead for international organizations to roll out poll programmes.
“If we need help, we will let you know,” the response from the government to the donors as alleged by the source at the Foreign ministry.
According to the source, the move was enacted to curb influence by foreign organizations, which affected the Supreme Court’s ruling on the nullification of the 2017 elections.
The international organizations, he believes, had ulterior motives as they were working to fulfill their own agenda.
“We have now reached that point where we can raise our own revenues that can fund our development and governance issues.
“Elections and the Judiciary are the basic sovereignty issues that we cannot let foreigners fund,” the source claimed.
During past elections, donors have funded IEBC processes such as voter registration, election security, technology acquisition and also staff training.
Unless the move is reverted, no international organization will be involved in the electoral programs and processes.
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