Inside IEBC voter registration: Strong numbers but more sensitisation needed
By Ndiritu Wanjiru, April 11, 2026The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has updated the number of new voter registrations to 875,501 under the current Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration (ECVR) exercise, which is undoubtedly good news.
It shows a resurgence of civic engagement by the Kenyans and is an indication that there are several citizens who are yet to come out and engage in the democratic future of the country before the 2027 general elections.
Need for intensified sensitisation
However, despite the welcome news of these numbers, a more troubling fact cannot go unnoticed: there are an estimated 10 million eligible Kenyans who are not registered as voters, and the IEBC is targeting 6.3 million people to register as voters ahead of the general elections.
This number leaves a long, dark shadow over the progress that is being reported and raises serious concerns about how inclusive the upcoming election will be when the gap is not immediately addressed.
The Commission has documented excellent weekly growth, with hundreds of thousands of new registrations in the short term, and it has kept registration centres open all the time, even on weekends and during public holidays.
This is a praiseworthy move that demonstrates institutional work to ensure the process is accessible. Nevertheless, the progress remains unsatisfactory compared to the number of non-registered eligible citizens.
As the 2027 elections approach, there is no time to lose. Each registration cycle is now a burden, as the closer the country gets to the election date, the harder it is to mobilise and get first-time voters to be registered, in particular, young people who constitute a large part of the unregistered group.
If this momentum isn’t accelerated, millions may be excluded from the democratic process due to timing and access issues. Those who have yet to register may express a willingness to participate, but they lack access to the ongoing civic education initiatives.
Other people have practical challenges, like distances to registration centres, inappropriate documentation, or a lack of information regarding the process.
Credit to the “Niko Kadi” movement
In this sense, credit goes to the favourable contributions of grassroots mobilisation efforts, such as the “Niko Kadi” movement, which have encouraged Kenyan citizens, especially the youth, to register in large numbers.
The movement has made voting seem more accessible and relevant to the younger generation, and its influence can be seen in the increased enthusiasm shown by the registration centres.
Nevertheless, now these and more vigorous efforts are needed on a national level to ensure Kenya does not go into the 2027 elections with such a large number of its eligible population not in the voters’ register. The present spurt is beneficial yet not sufficient.
Essentially, despite the encouraging figures, the magnitude of the exclusion remains too significant to ignore.
Unless the 10 million estimated unregistered eligible voters are reached by maintaining sensitisation and increased outreach, the hope of a fully representative democracy in 2027 will be undermined before the election even commences.