Thinking of vying for Presidency or just curious about how much it would cost to vie for the position? Well, this post is for you.

A survey by Coalition for Accountable Political Financing (CAPT), a Nairobi-based think-tank, shows that the 2007 general election was the most expensive in the country’s history. Close to KES 6 billion was spent by the main presidential contenders.

The 2012 race is expected to be more expensive, given the fact that candidates will be looking for support in 290 constituencies. A political strategist who worked in President Kibaki’s 2007 campaign team said each of the presidential candidates would be required to raise at least KES 10 billion for the entire campaign.

Most of the serious presidential candidates are busy making plans to build enough financial muscle to bankroll them into State House.

Several of them are said to have bought helicopters for their campaign trails. Peter Kenneth, has for example, bought two helicopters at an estimated cost of $3.12 million. Uhuru Kenyatta is said to have a helicopter at his disposal.

Peter Kenneth and Raphael Tuju are said to have raised about KES 2.5 billion and KES 3 billion respectively for their campaigns.

Moses Kuria, a political strategist, has placed the price tag for a serious presidential campaign at about KES 8 billion.

Statistics gathered from Africa Review.