NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 4 — The Public Procurement Administrative Review Board (PPARB) has ordered the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to review and amend its tender for the Integrated Elections Management System (IEMS), in a decision that temporarily disrupts the procurement of key election technology.
The Board allowed in part a request for review filed by Galadriel Investments Limited against IEBC’s tender for the supply, delivery, installation, testing, commissioning, support and maintenance of the IEMS, hardware equipment and accessories.
The tender had been the subject of a review application filed in August, triggering a suspension of the procurement proceedings.
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In its decision, the Board found that although several complaints raised by the applicant were not proved, its own examination of the tender document identified deficiencies requiring correction.
“We have found that the Tender Document contains certain deficiencies relating to the clarity, certainty and objectivity of some of its requirements and evaluation criteria,” the Board said in a ruling on Thursday.
It added that the deficiencies were “capable of being addressed through appropriate clarification, correction and alignment” with the applicable statutory requirements.
The Board specifically flagged areas concerning the technical specifications and evaluation criteria, including how applicable standards would be identified, requirements for international bidders, allocation of technical evaluation scores and provisions relating to post-qualification and contract awards.
It also raised concerns over how compliance with prescribed qualifications for key personnel would be demonstrated and objectively determined.
The Board concluded that the tender, “as originally issued, did not in all respects satisfy the statutory and constitutional requirements applicable to the preparation and evaluation of tenders.”
However, it stopped short of directing IEBC to redesign the technical or operational requirements of the election management system.
Instead, the Board ordered IEBC to review the tender and make the necessary corrections, clarifications and amendments in line with its findings.
IEBC must then issue and publish a new compliant tender document, giving prospective bidders a period prescribed by law — but not less than seven days — to consider the amendments, prepare and submit their tenders.
The Board also allowed IEBC to seek technical advice and support from the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) on the deficiencies identified.
The decision comes as IEBC prepares for the 2027 General Election, placing the procurement of election technology under renewed scrutiny.
The Board stressed that the procurement is an open international tender involving a technically specialised and operationally sensitive information system, and said corrections should promote fairness, transparency, competitiveness and equality of treatment.
The Board Secretary has also been directed to forward the decision to the Director-General of PPRA for information, monitoring and any further action deemed necessary
