IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba. He has asked for extra Sh3.8 billion to be able to conduct a free, fair and credible election. [Photo: X-News]Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has requested for extra Sh3.8 billion, above the Sh10 billion earlier approved by the Cabinet, to make it possible for the commission to conduct a free and fair election.The electoral agency says the extra cash will finance improvements in the digital technology to be employed in the polls, as ordered by the Supreme Court when it nullified the August 8 presidential poll.IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba has told the Special House Committee on Supplementary Budget chaired by Kipkelion East MP Joseph Limo that the Sh10 billion allocated by the National Treasury was not enough for the repeat poll, the Nation reports."At the time the additional budget was negotiated with the National Treasury, the commission had not finalised its requirement of the ICT improvements partly because of the delays of the detailed Supreme Court decision," Chiloba told the committee, Thursday.Key components of the budget include procurement of election material, deployment of election technology, advertising, transport, polling officers’ wages and allowances for two police officers in every polling station.The paper notes that this will bring to nearly Sh60 billion, the amount that the country has spent on this year’s election only. An estimated Sh45 billion was spent on the August 8 General Election, whose presidential results were annulled by the Supreme Court, citing systemic failures.

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