Why The Close of Voter Registration Is As Important As Voting Day

The Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has announced the end of voter registration for voters who will be eligible to participate in the 2027 General Election. This means that if you are not a registered voter by the close of voter registration then you will not be eligible to participate in the 2027 general election. You can still complain online but you voter will not be counted when polling stations close and counting of ballots happen.

Voter registration is very important in the election process because not only does it tell the IEBC, how many voters are registered and it needs to prepare for, but it also tells the different candidates how many voters are available in the presidential, gubernatorial, senate, constituency and even ward level. For example, if at the end of voter registration there is a total of 9 million voters eligible to vote then the IEBC and presidential candidates know how many people to target and what regions they are from.

On election day, it is the IEBC’s job to make sure that each person that votes is a registered voter. If there a 9 million people registered to vote for example, then you know that it is impossible to have 14 million votes cast. Voter registration acts like a marking scheme that tells the IEBC how many people are registered to take the exam, ensuring that the person voting is the same as the person registered. 

With still over one year left to the 2027 elections, we as Radio 254 feel that it may still be too early for the close of voter registration considering that Kenyans in the diaspora have still not been offered a chance to register themselves as voters and millions of Gen Z still not registered to vote. The IEBC has on record stated that they will not be extending the voter registration exercise which is a move seen as a way to lock out the millions of young voters who have still not yet registered to vote. To those registered, make the right choice in 2027.