NAIROBI, Kenya- The Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) has ordered the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to review, correct, and amend its tender for the Integrated Elections Management System (IEMS) ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The decision, issued on September 3, 2026, follows a request for review filed by Galadirel Investment Limited challenging aspects of IEBC Tender No.IEBC/OIT/01/2026-2027.
The tender covers the supply, delivery, installation, testing, commissioning, support and maintenance of the IEMS, together with related hardware and equipment.
PPARB found that several provisions in the tender document were not sufficiently clear, certain or objective to enable prospective bidders to understand how their bids would be assessed.
Among the issues identified were deficiencies in the technical evaluation criteria, including uncertainty over how compliance requirements would interact with weighted scoring.
The Board also raised concerns about requirements relating to hardware and technology ownership, qualifications of key personnel, applicable standards, international bidders and post-qualification procedures.
The Board said the shortcomings could affect the principles of fairness, transparency, equality and competitiveness required under Article 227 of the Constitution and the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act.
However, it stopped short of cancelling the procurement, ruling that the identified problems could be addressed through corrections, clarifications and amendments.
IEBC has consequently been directed to publish a new and compliant tender document after making the required changes.
Prospective bidders must be given at least seven days to consider the amendments and prepare and submit their bids.
The Board also allowed IEBC to seek technical advice and assistance from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) during the review.
It clarified, however, that responsibility for determining the technical specifications of the election management system remains with IEBC.
The ruling comes amid scrutiny of the procurement after Galadirel challenged the tender and raised concerns about some of its requirements.
The process had been suspended after the company filed its request for review on August 14, 2026.
The procurement has also attracted political attention because of allegations that the specifications could favour South Korean election technology company Miru Systems.
IEBC has rejected the allegations and previously maintained that no company had been awarded the tender.
Importantly, PPARB did not uphold the allegation that the tender had been specifically tailored to favour Miru Systems.
The Board also rejected challenges relating to the Sh30 million tender security and other aspects of the procurement.
The Board nevertheless identified additional errors in the tender, including an incorrect reference to a “2020 DPP” Incoterm and failure to disclose the mandatory Public Procurement Capacity Building Levy.
The ruling also follows an earlier admission by IEBC that its tender document had mistakenly required successful bidders to provide performance security of 20 per cent of the contract value, despite the applicable legal limit being 10 per cent.
The latest decision means IEBC must rectify the identified shortcomings before restarting the tender process for the election technology expected to support Kenya’s preparations for the August 10, 2027 General Election.
The PPARB ruling comes against the backdrop of strong criticism of the procurement by former Deputy President and Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua.
Gachagua has alleged that the tender was designed to favour South Korean technology company Miru Systems, claiming the outcome had effectively been predetermined before the procurement process was completed.
He has also questioned the decision to introduce a new election management system less than a year before the 2027 General Election, warning that migrating data from the existing system could expose the voter register to manipulation.
On September 1, Gachagua escalated his criticism, alleging that IEBC officials in its Supply Chain Management and Electoral Management directorates had been transferred after refusing to support what he described as disputed tender specifications before the procurement review board.
An IEBC memo confirms that staff transfers and redesignations took place, although the document does not establish that they were punishment for opposing the Miru tender.
