RFI No. 72061524RFI00004_Elections Program.pdf

Postal Address:

U.S. Agency for International Development USAID Kenya P.O. Box 629 Village Market 00621 Nairobi, Kenya

Courier Address:

USAID/Kenya c/o American Embassy United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya

Pouch Address:

American Embassy 8900 Nairobi Place Department Of State Washington D.C. 20521-

Tel: 254-20-363-2000 Fax: 254-20-363- 2680 / 2682 https://www.usaid.gov/kenya https://www.usaid.gov/east-africa-regional

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Reference: Request for Information (RFI) No. 72061524RFI00004 Issue Date: July 23, 2024 Response Due Date: August 16, 2024 Closing Time: 5:00p.m. Nairobi, Kenya Local Time

Industry Day: To be determined

Title: Input into USAID/Kenya and East Africa’s Strengthening Citizen Confidence and Trust in Kenya’s Electoral Institutions and Processes Program Planning

The United States Agency for International Development, Kenya and East Africa (USAID/KEA) is in the process of designing a new elections support program. The new program which will focus on the 2027 electoral cycle will be implemented over a period of four years from 2025 to 2028. As part of the design process, USAID/KEA is seeking input from a wide range of sources with the aim of designing a program that will build citizen trust and confidence in electoral institutions and processes.

To this end, USAID/KEA is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) for the purpose of offering stakeholders an opportunity to review, comment on, and provide responses in support of USAID/KEA’s future elections program. Through this RFI, USAID/KEA is reaching out to the market to determine the scope of industry capabilities and interest and the information provided will be treated as information only.

Background information and specific questions that USAID/KEA seeks input on are provided in the attachment to this notice.

Please note that this is not a Request for Proposals (RFP) or Request for Applications (RFA) and therefore should not be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government or USAID to issue any solicitation or Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), or ultimately award a contract or assistance agreement on the basis of this RFI, or to pay for any information voluntarily submitted as a result of this request. USAID is not seeking technical or cost proposals at this time. Do not submit any proposal/application at this time in response to this RFI.

In addition, responding to this RFI does not give any advantage to any firm or organization in any subsequent competition. Responses will not be returned but will be held confidentially. USAID reserves the right to respond to any, all, or none of the comments and questions submitted. USAID’s responses (if any) will be posted on www.grants.gov and www.sam.gov. Please continue to monitor the site for any updates to this RFI. The briefing materials for the planned industry day will be posted on the RFI page. Please submit any clarifications regarding this RFI and your submissions in response to this RFI via email to sasiedu@usaid.gov with a copy to emailu@usaid.gov with the subject entitled: “RFI: Strengthening Citizen Confidence and Trust in Kenya’s Electoral Institutions and Processes”.

Responses (comments, suggestions, and enhancements) to this RFI are due to the USAID/KEA Office of Acquisition and Assistance identified below by August 15, 2024. Interested parties shall provide an electronic copy of their response in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat formats. The Agency server is unable to accept Zip files and therefore respondents may not send any files in this format. Please email responses to sasiedu@usaid.gov with a copy to emailu@usaid.gov with the subject title, “RFI: Strengthening Citizen Confidence and Trust in Kenya’s Electoral Institutions and Processes”.

https://www.usaid.gov/kenya https://www.usaid.gov/east-africa-regional https://www.usaid.gov/east-africa-regional http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/ mailto:sasiedu@usaid.gov mailto:emailu@usaid.gov mailto:sasiedu@usaid.gov mailto:emailu@usaid.gov

Responses to this RFI must be succinct, specific, clear, and written in English; limited to not more than 7 pages; use 12-point Times New Roman font; and be single-spaced with one-inch margins.

USAID/KEA, at its discretion, may hold a Conference or “Industry Day” with selected entities that respond to this RFI at a date to be determined by USAID after the due date specified on the cover page.

USAID/KEA will review all responses to the RFI. The quality and depth of responses will help to inform USAID/KEA’s solicitation and design and will serve as one of the bases for selecting invitees to the aforementioned Industry Day, should it occur. USAID/KEA may contact a respondent to clarify elements of their response, request additional information, or discuss other related aspects. Exchanges during the RFI stage will be used to inform USAID/KEA solicitation and design of any future procurement.

If and when a solicitation is issued, it will be announced on the Grants.Gov website http://www.grants.gov at a later date and all interested parties must respond to that solicitation announcement separately from any response to this announcement. This RFI does not in any way commit the U.S. Government to issuing a solicitation or restrict the U.S. Government’s approach on a future solicitation.

This Notice can be viewed and downloaded from the internet at www.grants.gov and on www.sam.gov .

Thank you for your interest in the subject request for information.

This request does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the U.S. Government, nor does it commit the U.S. Government to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a response. Any funding obligation is subject to the availability of funds.

Sincerely, Sandra Asiedu Agreement Officer

Enclosures:

Attachment 1: USAID/KEA Strengthening Citizen Confidence and Trust in Kenya’s Electoral Institutions and Processes Program Background Information.

http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.fbo.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.sam.gov/

Attachment 1

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Strengthening Citizen Confidence and Trust in Kenya’s Electoral Institutions and Processes

1. Program Context Kenya has been holding multi-party elections since 1992. Since then, the country’s democratic space has grown with substantial progress on democratic engagement, election administration and reduction of electoral and political violence, as witnessed in the 2022 General Elections, which were concluded peacefully. The credibility of the 2022 election was upheld by various local and international elections observation groups and affirmed by the Supreme Court of Kenya when it upheld the results of the presidential election. However, the post-election period was characterized by a spate of opposition-led protests, drawing on general economic dissatisfaction to relitigate aspects of the election and its legitimacy. Relative tranquility returned to the country after the ruling and opposition coalitions agreed to a consensus-building process that culminated in the creation of a National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) to facilitate dialogue and recommend constitutional, legal and policy reforms. NADCO made far-reaching recommendations which - if adopted and implemented are expected to significantly impact the electoral process. Some of these recommendations will require amendments of the Constitution and several electoral laws.

2. Problem Statement Despite democratic gains since the 2013 General Elections, Kenya has witnessed significant backsliding in electoral processes and pluralism, civic space, and functioning of government in the intervening period. Public trust in key democratic institutions has declined. Between 2014 and 2022, trust in the Presidency has declined from 72% to 47%; trust; in the Judiciary from 58% to 49%;

Parliament from 54% to 41%; and trust in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has declined from 46% to 40%.1 Overall public trust in government institutions has declined from 58% in 2017 to 44% in 2022. This dearth of trust has deepened voter apathy in electoral and political processes. Public participation in electoral and political processes, as measured by voter turnout, has declined from 85% in 2013 to 80% in 2017 and 65% in 2022.2 Youth turnout hit an all-time low of 40% in 2022 elections3, owing to inadequate civic and voter information, erosion of information integrity accompanying the spread of social media, and ineffectiveness of CSOs to enhance citizens voice and undertake robust civic engagement. Special Interest Groups (SIGs), including women, youth, persons with disabilities, minority and marginalized groups, and the elderly, continue to be marginalized in electoral and political processes. For example, while the constitution dictates that elective bodies should not have more than two-thirds of one gender, a paltry 8.4% of elected Members of the National Assembly are women. Youth occupied less than 6.5% of all elective positions following the 2022 elections. Out of more than 600 persons with disabilities vying in 2022 elections, only 7 (about

1 https://www.afrobarometer.org/countries/kenya/ 2 IEBC 2022 Post Election Evaluation Report https://www.iebc.or.ke/uploads/resources/pabjKTV6Xa.pdf 3 Catalysing change: Strategies for transforming Kenya’s electoral landscape https://www.afrobarometer.org/countries/kenya/ https://www.iebc.or.ke/uploads/resources/pabjKTV6Xa.pdf

1%) were elected.4 The low inclusion of women, youth, persons with disabilities, and other SIGs can be attributed to unfavorable social-cultural norms, a political landscape skewed against SIGs, and few representatives from SIGs running for office.

Further, elections in Kenya have historically been marred by corruption, elitism, ethnic polarization, marginalization of youth, women and Persons living with disabilities, and lack of accountability from leaders and governance institutions, often leading to electoral and political violence, human rights violations and a loss of the public’s trust in the overall integrity of the electoral process. These deeply rooted and structural challenges to Kenya’s democracy erode public trust in electoral institutions and processes, drive election-related violence, and undermine long-term stability and inclusive development.5

3. Rationale for the Program These dynamics contribute to pervasive fragility around Kenya’s elections and political processes, despite incremental progress over successive election cycles. Cycles of political realignments sustain the veneer of stability, yet political temperatures in the country are consistently elevated and the threat of violence pre and post-election lingers. For example, despite there being less than 39 months to the next general election, seven by-elections are pending, a constitutional deadline for boundary delimitation has passed, the IEBC does not have Commissioners since January 2023, posing a palpable risk of plunging the country into a constitutional crisis. Unless Kenya takes deliberate steps to build on the progress to date and tackle the persistent challenges, the same risks are likely to recur in future electoral cycles.

Through a new elections support program, USAID/KEA intends to adopt an electoral cycle approach to strengthening key electoral institutions and processes and making them more inclusive and accountable, enhancing access, participation and leadership of marginalized groups and reducing the influence of money, violence, and identity in electoral processes. USAID/KEA anticipate that this will enhance citizens’ trust and confidence in the electoral process and key democratic institutions and contribute to a more credible and peaceful election in 2027 and beyond.

Programmatic Focus This RFI seeks to collect perspectives of local, national and international electoral stakeholders on priorities and support areas for the 2027 General Elections; what success will look like and how success will be achieved and measured.

This RFI focuses on the following thematic areas:

Outcome 1: Electoral institutions and processes are more accountable, efficient and effective.

● Electoral legal reforms

● Electoral institutional strengthening

● Electoral conflict mitigation

4 IEBC 2022 Post Election Evaluation Report https://www.iebc.or.ke/uploads/resources/pabjKTV6Xa.pdf 5 https://theconversation.com/why-youth-apathy-in-elections-bodes-ill-for-kenya-188662 https://www.iebc.or.ke/uploads/resources/pabjKTV6Xa.pdf

Outcome 2: Increased citizens participation in electoral and political processes.

● Voter education, including continuous voter registration

● Civic engagement and voter education to enhance citizen understanding of the electoral process

● Political party strengthening and internal democracy building

Outcome 3: Increased and meaningful inclusion of women, youth, persons with disabilities and other SIGs in electoral processes and leadership positions.

● SIGs holding leadership positions within political parties

● Strengthening of youth, women and persons with disabilities leagues in political parties

● Increasing SIG candidates cleared by IEBC to vie for various elective positions

Cross-Cutting Considerations:

● Gender

● Youth Engagement

● Environmental Compliance

● Climate Risk Assessment

● Inclusion (PWD, youth and women)

● Conflict Sensitivity Approaches

Stakeholders are free to address one or more of the thematic areas above.

End of Attachment 1

[End of RFI No. 72061524RFI00004]