The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has acknowledged an error in its tender for the supply, delivery, installation, testing, and maintenance of the new Integrated Elections Management System (IEMS). During proceedings before the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB), the electoral body revealed that it mistakenly required prospective bidders to provide a performance security equivalent to 20 per cent of the contract price—exceeding the statutory ceiling of 10 per cent set by Kenyan procurement law.
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While admitting to the error, the commission maintained that the oversight was an isolated mistake that is being rectified via an official addendum. Concurrently, the IEBC firmly dismissed allegations that the tender was designed or pre-determined to give an unfair advantage to South Korean firm Miru Systems Limited or any other foreign supplier.
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Breakdown of the Tender Security Dispute
The procurement challenge was formally lodged by Galadirel Investments Limited, which argued that the tender document issued on August 11 contained material contradictions, undefined requirements, and material omissions in breach of Article 227 of the Constitution and the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act (PPADA).
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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Key Points of Contention in the IEBC Tender │
├───────────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Issue Raised │ IEBC Response │
├───────────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 20% Performance Security │ Admitted as an error; preparing an │
│ Requirement │ addendum to cap it at 10% │
├───────────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Fixed Ksh 30M Tender Security │ Defended as legal for framework │
│ Without Stated Contract Value │ contract procurements │
├───────────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Favoritism Toward Miru Systems │ Rejected as speculative claims; no │
│ Limited (South Korea) │ specific clause cited │
├───────────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Concerns Over Foreign Placement │ Highlighted mandatory 40% local │
│ and Skills Transfer │ content threshold requirement │
└───────────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────┘
Defense Against Allegations of Favoritism
Beyond the formal PPARB review, political figures—including Democracy for Change Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua—have alleged that the technical specifications of the IEMS tender were drafted around Miru Systems’ proprietary technology.
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In its submissions to the review board, the electoral commission rejected these claims as unsubstantiated and speculative. The commission pointed out that the applicant failed to identify any specific clause in the tender document that offers Miru Systems or any bidder an unfair competitive edge.
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“The tender is strict; it’s either you are compliant or not. For the bidder to succeed, it should be a hundred percent.”
— IEBC Legal Representative
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To safeguard domestic enterprise interests and promote skill transfer, the IEBC emphasized that the tender guidelines explicitly mandate a 40 per cent local content threshold for the winning consortium.
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Justification for the Ksh 30 Million Tender Security
Galadirel Investments Limited also questioned why the commission set an absolute tender security value of Ksh 30 million without stating the underlying total value of the contract.
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Argument Category Galadirel Investments’ Position IEBC Response
Contract Valuation Lack of stated tender value creates ambiguity, violating Section 61 of the PPADA. Framework contracts permit setting tender security as a fixed lump sum rather than a fixed percentage.
Bidding Integrity Ambiguities alter bid comparability and compromise equal treatment of prospective tenderers. Strict evaluation parameters ensure only 100% compliant bids move forward.
Next Steps for the Election Technology Procurement
The temporary suspension placed on the procurement process remains active while the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board considers the submissions. The IEBC has requested the board to dismiss the petition and lift the stay order to enable the commission to proceed with technical evaluation.
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A ruling from the PPARB is expected in the coming days, which will determine whether the IEBC can proceed with the amended tender or if the procurement must be canceled and re-advertised ahead of upcoming electoral preparations.
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Media References & Primary Sources
For further coverage of this procurement dispute, consult the reporting on Citizen Digital and Capital FM Kenya.
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