IEBC decries budget constraints, security challenges after missing registration target

Kenya's electoral commission has acknowledged falling short of its target for the current continuous voter registration exercise, blaming chronic underfunding and deteriorating security conditions in parts of the country that hampered the deployment of registration teams.

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission chairperson Muyela Ethekon disclosed at a briefing that approximately 2.3 million new voters were enrolled between 30 March and 28 April, a figure that misses the commission's benchmark by roughly 154,500 people. Civil society organisations warned that the shortfall risks disenfranchising eligible Kenyans ahead of the 2027 general election.

Ethekon attributed the underperformance to two primary factors. The first is a persistent budget deficit that has forced the IEBC to reduce active registration centres and limit the working hours of its personnel. The commission has repeatedly flagged its financial constraints to Parliament, arguing that inadequate allocations undermine the operational independence its constitutional mandate requires.

The second factor cited was insecurity in select regions, particularly in parts of northern Kenya where inter-community tensions and the activities of armed groups have made it hazardous to station registration officers. Kenya's arid and semi-arid counties have historically posted the lowest voter registration rates, a pattern that advocacy groups argue systematically weakens the electoral voice of pastoralist and marginalised communities whose development concerns already receive limited national attention.

The continuous registration programme is designed to capture voters who reach the eligible age of 18 between major registration drives or who missed earlier exercises. Rights groups have called on the National Treasury to release supplementary funds before the next phase opens, arguing that repeated shortfalls compound existing structural inequalities in voter participation and threaten the credibility of future elections if left unaddressed.