Confusion as IEBC Orders Fresh Registration for Pre-2012 Voters
Millions of Kenyans who registered as voters before the 2013 General Elections are now being asked to register again with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The announcement came late on Friday, April 3, creating confusion among the public about who is required to enroll afresh.
In an official statement issued on Friday night, IEBC Chairman Erastus Ethekon clarified, “If you registered as a voter between 2012 and 2026, you do not need to register again.” This means only those who registered before 2012 are affected by this new directive.
The commission explained that the fresh registration is necessary to ensure that all older voters are included in the current biometric Register of Voters (RoV).
The IEBC emphasized that the biometric system, which came into effect in 2012 following major electoral reforms, did not capture the details of voters who had registered prior to that year.
“Consequently, individuals who had previously enrolled as voters before 2012 are not part of the current biometric RoV unless they subsequently presented themselves for fresh registration,” Chairman Ethekon said.
Effectively, this means that all Kenyans who registered before November 2012—the cut-off date for the voter roll used in the August 2013 General Election—must now have their biometric details captured again.
This step is critical to ensure their names appear in the official system, allowing them to vote in the upcoming elections.
Chairman Ethekon linked the move to reforms that followed Kenya’s post-election violence in 2007/08, which triggered wide-ranging changes in various sectors, including the electoral system.
“Those who registered as voters before 2012 may have to register afresh to ensure their names are properly reflected in the system,” he explained.
He reiterated that, “If you registered as a voter between 2012 and 2026, you do not need to register again.”
According to the IEBC, the voter register currently in use was created following the 2012 boundaries delimitation process.
This overhaul of the electoral system was part of a series of reforms that introduced biometric voter registration and transformed the way Kenyans are enrolled to vote.
“The pre-2012 data was legally disposed of,” Ethekon confirmed, noting that the 2012 registration drive alone brought in about 14.5 million new voters.
The register has since grown steadily: by 2017, it had 19.6 million voters, and by 2022, the number had risen to 22.1 million as more citizens joined the rolls.
With the ongoing Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration (ECVR) exercise, the IEBC hopes to further expand the biometric roll.
“We now aspire to increase the number to about 28.8 million voters through the ongoing drive,” Ethekon added, highlighting the commission’s goal of making the voter register as inclusive and up-to-date as possible.
This new directive is a clear reminder for Kenyans who registered before 2012 to act quickly to ensure they remain eligible to vote.
The IEBC is urging the public to take advantage of the registration centers now open across the country to avoid missing out in future elections.
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