The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has announced plans to clean up the voter register as part of ongoing efforts to enhance credibility ahead of the 2027 general election.
Speaking during a stakeholders’ meeting in Murang’a County on Thursday, IEBC Commissioner Ann Nderitu said the Commission will conduct a post-registration audit to remove deceased voters and eliminate inaccuracies in the roll.
IEBC, she noted, will partner with the office of civil registration and also engage an independent firm to help in cleaning up the voter register.
Nderitu assured that the exercise will be transparent and put in public to ensure Kenyans peruse and are conversant with the register.
“The clean-up exercise, commonly referred to as voter register auditing, forms a critical part of electoral integrity, helping to eliminate duplicate or invalid entries and restore public confidence in the system.
“Our audit team will clean up the register by removing deceased voters in liaison with the Registrar of Births and Deaths to ensure the register is credible and up-to-date,” said the commissioner during the forum held at St Mary’s Cathedral Hall.
At the same time, Nderitu said the IEBC is intensifying the Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration (ECVR) exercise, with a strong focus on grassroots mobilisation.
“We are aiming to reach as many eligible voters as possible at the grassroots. From our weekly reports, now in the second week, we have reached 134,000 people against our target of 2.5 million new voters by the end of this month.” She noted.
Nderitu further revealed that the current voter register, used in the 2022 elections, stands at 22.1 million voters, with the commission aiming to add 6.3 million more before the 2027 polls, urging all eligible Kenyans to come out and register, terming the exercise a critical process in strengthening our democracy.
To improve access, the commissioner noted that they have rolled out structured registration schedules across villages and wards, enabling residents to know when and where to register.
Nderitu dismissed concerns over malfunctioning kits, noting that only minimal challenges have been reported and are being resolved promptly to avoid disruptions.
On national identification cards, she said the IEBC is working closely with registration authorities to fast-track issuance, saying according to records, there are thousands of uncollected ID cards at offices of registration of persons.
“With the new digital systems, IDs are now taking about three days to be ready. We urge those who have not collected their IDs to do so. This will facilitate them to register as voters.” She added.
On her part, Murang’a County Elections Manager Saumu Omar Chirchir said the county has so far registered 18,227 new voters under the ECVR exercise, against a target of 71,000 by the end of EVR month.
She urged residents to take advantage of the ongoing grassroots registration, saying that once the exercise ends, registration will revert to IEBC offices at the constituency level.
“If we can register at least 500 voters per day for the remaining period, we will be able to achieve our target. From our observation few youths are showing up for registration.” She remarked.
By Bernard Munyao
