IEBC orders fresh registration for voters registered before 2012

IEBC chairman Erastus Ethekon addresses the Press after a meeting with Evangelical Alliance of Kenya in Nairobi on February 4, 2026. [Benard Orwongo, Standard

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has directed all Kenyans who registered as voters before 2012 to undergo a fresh registration process. 

In a statement, the Commission stated that the voters were not captured in the current biometric Register of Voters (RoV), hence the new directive.

“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,” said IEBC chairperson Ethekon.

“Such persons are, therefore, required to register afresh in order to be included in the current biometric register.”

According to the commission, failure to comply could result in long-term voters being omitted from the final roll used for the 2027 elections.

The new registration requirement adds to the mass registration drive, which aims to enroll 2.5 million new voters. 

So far, the exercise has recorded over 344,000 registrations in its first days.