The much anticipated general elections are just four days away with each presidential candidate and every other person seeking an elective post working on their final touches in a bid to scoop victory.
Campaigns towards the general elections will be officially ending on August 6, before Kenyans troop to polling stations as early as 6 am on Tuesday August 9 to be able to make choices on who should be in the next government as President Uhuru Kenyatta’s term comes to an end.
The journey to a successful election for candidates especially the presidential ones is however not an easy one as it takes a lot, in terms of funds and resources right from campaigns to end of the election process.
Four Kenyans are targeting the presidency and each of them will be expected to have at at least one agent in all the 46,232 polling stations. Having presidential agents in all the polling stations will cost each candidate about Kshs100 million to Ksh2.5 billions depending on the party’s budget, the number of days that will be taken before the presidential results are announced and the number of agents they would want to have in polling stations.
This means that the cost of each polling station is estimated at Kshs50,000. This cost also caters for the training of the agents before elections. Training is key to ensure that they clearly understand the role that has been bestowed on them.
Some officials of a number of political parties previously revealed to the media that all agents are entitled to an allowance of not less than Ksh1000 a day. Previously, it has taken IEBC 3-7 days to count and tally the presidential results.
Roles of agents
An agent is a person that is appointed by a political party or independent candidate to oversee elections on behalf of the party or candidate. They are tasked with guarding votes of their candidates and relaying information about the whole process their parties and contestants. They are monitor the entire electoral process.
Aside from that, they also play the role of ensuring that the electoral process is free and fair.
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