The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will resume continuous voter registration in August 2025, ending a two-year suspension that followed the 2022 General Election.
In a statement issued on Saturday, IEBC Chairperson Erastus Ethekon revealed that the commission has been preparing quietly behind the scenes to roll out the exercise, which seeks to update the voters’ roll and give eligible Kenyans—especially the youth—a chance to participate in upcoming elections.
“IEBC is currently finalising internal processes and in August next month, we will announce via a gazette notice the timelines for the resumption of continuous voter registration to allow eligible citizens of Kenya to register as voters,” Ethekon stated.
The voter registration had been on hold due to legal limitations. The law bars the secretariat from initiating such processes without a fully constituted commission. The departure of previous commissioners after the 2022 polls left the agency without the quorum needed to make key decisions, including those regarding voter registration.
“In our absence, therefore, the secretariat could not do much rather than wait for the constitution of the commission, which we now have,” Ethekon clarified.
The commission’s boss acknowledged growing public demand for the resumption of registration—calls that have intensified over the past two years, particularly from youth and political stakeholders.
“These calls are driven largely by a new generation of voters eager to participate in democratic processes in accordance with the Constitution,” he said.
“We hear the voices of young Kenyans. The IEBC has been laying the groundwork for the resumption of voter registration to ensure no voices are left out.”
Ethekon stressed that a credible election begins with a clean and inclusive voter register, noting that the integrity of the electoral process depends on it.
“A clean and inclusive register is not merely administrative—it’s the foundation of free, fair and transparent elections,” he stated.
He added that the commission will continue consulting stakeholders ahead of the relaunch to ensure the process is inclusive and transparent.
