Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has unveiled an ambitious drive to register 6.3 million new voters ahead of the 2027 General Election, aiming to raise the national voter roll to over 28 million, a historic high.
Under its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) framework, the initiative will target a wide swathe of citizens: those who have recently turned 18, individuals who missed previous registration windows, as well as existing registrants looking to update, correct, or transfer their voter details.
Preparations are already underway. IEBC has mapped registration centres across all counties, including remote and hard‑to‑reach areas, to ensure registration is accessible. Staff training is being conducted for registration officers, while technical systems—especially the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) kits used for biometric data capture—are being configured and tested.
Public awareness is also a priority. The Commission is engaging with stakeholders at constituency level, using geospatial data to guide allocation of resources and to better plan where to locate registration stations.
Eligibility criteria will follow constitutional norms: citizens aged 18 and above, in possession of a valid national identity card or passport, those not already registered elsewhere, and those who meet legal requirements regarding previous convictions.
If successful, this expansion of the voter register will not only strengthen democratic participation, especially among youth, but also serve as a critical test of IEBC’s readiness to deliver an inclusive, credible electoral process in 2027.
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