The planned overhaul of Kenya’s elections management system has suffered a fresh setback after a procurement panel faulted the IEBC’s tender documents and ordered the commission to make changes before proceeding with the process.
The Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) directed the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to review the tender and issue a new version after finding that some of its provisions were not clear enough to guide bidders or support a fair assessment of their proposals.
The ruling followed a complaint by Galadirel Investment Limited, which challenged parts of the procurement process, including requirements concerning hardware, ownership of technology and the method to be used in assessing bids.
The tender, listed as IEBC/OIT/01/2026-2027, is for the supply, delivery, installation, testing, commissioning, support and maintenance of an Integrated Elections Management System.
The contract will also cover hardware equipment and accessories required for the system.
In its findings, the Board said some sections of the tender lacked sufficient clarity to help potential bidders understand the requirements and ensure that the bids would be assessed in an objective and transparent manner.
The procurement panel therefore ordered the IEBC to go back to the tender document, correct the areas identified and publish a revised version before continuing with the process.
The commission has been directed to “issue and publish a new and compliant Tender Document” once the necessary changes have been made.
It must also give prospective bidders the time provided for under the law to study the revised requirements and prepare their bids. The Board set the minimum period at seven days.
The IEBC may also seek guidance and technical assistance from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) under Section 9(1)(g) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.
According to the Board, such support could help the commission address the shortcomings and unclear areas identified in the tender.
The Board Secretary was separately instructed to send the ruling to the Director-General of the PPRA for information, monitoring and any further action considered necessary under the authority’s legal mandate.
The decision comes shortly after the IEBC disclosed that the same procurement document contained an error over the level of performance security required from the successful bidder.
The commission had set the performance security at 20 per cent of the contract value, despite the applicable legal ceiling being 10 per cent.
IEBC said it had detected the mistake and was preparing an addendum to amend the requirement. At the time, the commission maintained that the error did not invalidate the procurement process.
The latest ruling, however, requires the IEBC to address wider concerns beyond the performance-security provision.
The commission will now have to amend the other sections identified by the Board before issuing a fresh compliant tender and allowing bidders sufficient time to respond to the changes.
The Integrated Elections Management System is expected to handle key electoral functions and forms part of the IEBC’s plans to strengthen its elections infrastructure ahead of future electoral processes.