IEBC registers nearly 500,000 new voters in a week as ECVR deadline looms

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has added 495,429 new voters to the national register in the seven days to April 16, 2026, bringing the total number of registrations since the start of the Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration exercise to 1,370,930.

The ECVR exercise began on March 30 and is scheduled to close on April 28, 2026.

IEBC Chairperson Erastus Edung Ethekon confirmed the latest figures in a statement, saying the spike since the last update on April 9 reflects growing public participation ahead of the 2027 General Elections.

The commission is targeting 2.5 million new voters from this exercise.

Nairobi County leads all 47 counties with 150,166 new registrations, followed by Kiambu at 72,055.

Mandera recorded 11,455 new voters and Nyamira 12,573, among the lower-performing counties.

Beyond fresh registrations, the exercise has also logged 92,602 voter transfers, where registered voters opted to change their polling stations, and 1,969 updates of personal particulars in the register.

The registration drive is running daily, including weekends, across all 1,450 County Assembly Wards, institutions of higher learning, Huduma Centres, IEBC constituency offices, and the Customer Experience Centre at Anniversary Towers in Nairobi.

Kenyans are not required to travel to their home counties to register, as all kits outside constituency offices can enlist voters to their preferred polling areas.

However, registration is not taking place in six electoral areas with scheduled by-elections or pending election petitions: Porro Ward, Endo Ward, Emurua Dikirr Constituency, Ol Kalou Constituency, Malava Constituency, and Mbeere North Constituency.

The commission has noted that participation extends across age groups.

Ethekon cited registrations from elderly Kenyans in remote areas, including residents of Kwale aged over 80, as evidence that the exercise has reached beyond typical urban or youth-driven demographics.

However, young, first-time voters remain the primary driver of the numbers.

IEBC has also raised concern over isolated attacks on its registration staff in some parts of the country.

The commission condemned the incidents and urged security agencies and the public to protect officers in the field.

With 11 days left before the April 28 deadline, the IEBC has warned that the exercise will not be extended.

Once it closes, voter registration will revert to the standard constituency office model, which is less accessible for most Kenyans than the current ward-level deployment.

Kenyans who registered as voters before 2012 are not captured in the current biometric Register of Voters.

The RoV was introduced that year following the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution and the enactment of the Elections Act.

Any person who registered before 2012 and has not since re-enrolled must register afresh to be included.

To register, eligible Kenyans must present a valid national identity card or a Kenyan passport at any active registration centre.