News

PS Omollo urges IEBC to address overcrowding at tallying centres after voting

Friday 15th May, 2026 10:45 AM| By Mabonga Makhanu

The principal secretary for the State Department of Interior and Internal Coordination, Raymond Omollo, has urged the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to address the issue of voter overcrowding at tallying centres after voting exercises.

Speaking during a multi-sectoral meeting that brought together key stakeholders in electoral processes on Friday, May 15, 2026, including the National Police Service, the Interior Ministry, and the IEBC, Omollo urged IEBC Chairperson Erastus Ethekon to improve efficiency in the electoral system.

He noted that Kenyans should not be forced to wait for several days before knowing the outcome of elections, as has been the case in the past.

PS Raymond Omollo, while speaking during the joint meeting between the Interior Ministry and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). PHOTO//Screengrab by people Daily Digital/https://www.facebook.com/nationalpoliceke

“After voting, we expect people to go home, but we end up with people crowding at the polling station. I hope this time the process can be much more efficient so that we don’t have to wait for one week or two to get to know the results; it should be immediate.”Omollo said.

Omollo’s take on ECVR

Omollo has also commended the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for recording what he described as impressive results during the Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration (ECVR) exercise that ended on April 28.

A voter’s fingerprints being captured during a past biometric registration exercise. PHOTO/https://www.iebc.or.ke/registration/?how

Omollo noted that the commission came close to achieving its target of registering 2.5 million voters after successfully registering 2.3 million people across the country.

“First of all, I would like to commend the team at IEBC under the leadership of the chair; for the first time, you set out to register 2.5 million, and you returned with 2.3 million, and that is an impressive 92 percent score. If you look at what happened in the past, this is a worthy celebration,” Omollo added.

Comparisons with past exercises

According to the principal secretary, the figure translates to about 92 percent of the target, which he termed a major improvement compared to previous voter registration drives.

Omollo said the achievement was worth celebrating, noting that in the past, the commission struggled to come close to its registration targets during similar exercises.

He observed that the latest outcome reflected increased public participation and improved mobilisation efforts by the electoral body.