Former Judiciary Chief Registrar Anne Amadi has proposed cutting the number of polling stations in Kenya by half, arguing that it would help reduce election costs.
Appearing before the IEBC selection panel on Monday, Amadi suggested that the current 46,232 polling stations be reduced to 22,000.
She cited voter turnout trends during general elections, noting that, on average, only about 65 per cent of registered voters show up at polling stations to vote.
Given this low voter turnout, Amadi recommended that the IEBC be allowed to increase the number of voters per polling station from the current 700 to 1,000 as an administrative measure.
Currently, each of the 46,232 polling stations across the country is capped at 700 voters, up from the previous limit of 500.
According to Amadi, reducing the number of polling stations would significantly cut the total cost of managing elections.
"Reducing the number of polling stations would lead to fewer resources being required, including security, transport, staff, and ballot boxes," she told the panel led by Dr. Nelson Makanda.“When the number of polling stations is fixed at the current level, the budget doubles unnecessarily.”She further argued that the proposed reduction aligns with the government’s ongoing austerity measures.
