Election 2022 to feature highest number of registered voters, polling stations in Kenya's history

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati speaks on the voter register audit on Monday, June 20, 2022, at Bomas of Kenya, Nairobi. [Samson Wire, Standard]

The August 9 polls will see the highest number of polling stations yet, as well as registered voters. This has been revealed by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) following an audit conducted by KPMG. The said report is preliminary, released on June 2, 2022.

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati says a total of 46,232 polling stations have been registered in 2022, an increase of 13.08 per cent from 2017 where 40,883 polling stations were registered. The number of registered voters has also risen from 19,611,423 to 22,120,458 equivalent to 12.79 per cent.

“The Commission is pleased to announce that the audit of the ROV [Register of Voters] has been completed by KPMG and the final report submitted to the Commission on 18th June 2022. The Commission, based on preliminary audit findings shared by KPMG, implemented some of the recommendations and it is in the course of finalizing the few remaining ones,” said Chebukati.

The number of eligible voters as per the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has equally gone up by 10.49 per cent, from 25,212,096 in the last election to 27,857,598 this year. 

The National Registration Bureau has issued ID cards to more Kenyans, with the figure standing at 29,566,678, compared to 25,323,059 in 2017, an increase of 16.76 per cent.

The enrolment rates have also gone up. IEBC registered voters compared to eligible voters stands at 79.41 per cent this year, up from 77.78 per cent in 2017. However, registered voters compared to IDs issued declined from 77.44 per cent in 2017 to 74.82 per cent this year.

Diaspora and prisons voter registration has also seen an increase from the last cycle. 10,444 diaspora voters were registered this year, up from 4,223 in 2017. The prisons registered 7,483 persons, up from 5,182 in 2017.

According to IEBC CEO Marjan Hussein, the audit report revealed a massive transfer of voters.

“KPMG analysed the full register and noted that there were transfer transactions processed between 2017 general election and May 2022. The analysis of those transfers identified several constituencies and counties showing trends of abnormal voter transfers having been processed in the Register of Voters,” said Marjan.

On the other hand, youth aged between 18 – 34 registered in 2022 is equivalent to 39.84 per cent, a decline of 5.27 per cent in 2017. The number of female youth has declined by 7.75 per cent, while the number of male youth has declined by 2.89 per cent.