Companies
Friday April 22 2022
IEBC presiding officer counting votes YMCA Karagita, Hell’s Gate ward on 4th March 2021. PHOTO | RICHARD MAOSI | NMG
A Greek security printing firm Inform P Lykos SA has informed its shareholders of its lucrative Kenyan election tender despite mounting controversy in Nairobi.
The listed Athens-based firm said in a regulatory filing seen by the Business Daily that the tender with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for the August 9 polls is worth Sh3.49 billion.
It said under the deal it will print an excess of 120 million ballots which it will ship to Kenya.
“It is a three-year framework contract with a budget of 28 million euros and an estimated number of ballots in excess of 120 million,” said Inform Lykos in a regulatory filing to the Athens Stock Exchange.
The ballots will contain security features to maintain the integrity of the voting process by ensuring that only authentic ballots are used.
“The project is referring to the production of election ballots that have the highest security standards, special packaging, air transportation, as well as the traceability process to ensure safe delivery to each constituency,” said Lykos.
In the August 9 polls, voters will elect President Uhuru Kenyatta’s successor.
Inform Lykos was contracted by the IEBC to supply ballot papers, register of voters and election declaration forms, among other items, for the 2022 General Election.
The lucrative contract was however contested by rivals.
Like also fought claims linking it to the last-minute postponement of elections in Nigeria in February 2019.
Contracts for printing presidential ballot papers ahead of elections have previously been marked with courts fights, prompting their cancellations.
In 2017, the High Court nullified the contract for printing presidential ballot papers, just weeks before the elections that happened on August 8.
The judge then ruled that the IEBC’s tendering process was not sufficiently transparent after the Opposition lodged a series of legal challenges over the organization of the election where Mr Kenyatta was seeking a second and final five-year term against Mr Raila Odinga.
The IEBC awarded the Sh2.5 billion contract to Dubai-based firm Al Ghurair in 2016.
But a High Court judge canceled it, saying it did not follow new election regulations after it was challenged by the opposition.
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Companies Greek printing firm braces for Kenyan polls windfall Friday April 22 2022 IEBC presiding officer counting votes YMCA Karagita, Hell’s Gate ward on 4th March 2021. PHOTO | RICHARD MAOSI | NMG By BRIAN NGUGIMore by this Author Summary The listed Athens-based firm said in a regulatory filing seen by the Business Daily that…