The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has addressed ongoing debate regarding plans to potentially eliminate voter cards as a mandatory requirement in the 2027 General Election.
In a statement from IEBC chair Erastus Ethekon on Tuesday, July 29, the commission confirmed that while there were a set of Bills and Regulations in place aimed at strengthening the country’s electoral process, nothing had been finalised.
“These proposals have already been submitted to the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee of the National Assembly and the Senate Standing Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights for further consideration and legislative processing,” the IEBC’s statement read.
In the statement, the IEBC clarified that among the series of proposed amendments to several electoral laws, included the Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Election Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
These amendments, according to IEBC, have been submitted to the relevant parliamentary committees for further review and processing.
IEBC also confirmed the drafting of a review of regulations including the Elections (General) Regulations, 2012, the Elections (Voter Registration) Regulations, 2012, and the Elections (Voter Education) Regulations, 2012.
More importantly, the commission reiterated that all proposed changes would be subject to adequate public participation before they are implemented.
“In obedience to the judgement of the High Court, the IEBC intends to subject the draft Regulations to comprehensive public participation. Thereafter, the Commission will incorporate stakeholders’ contributions to improve the Regulations ahead of implementation,” the statement went on.
IEBC’s statement came at the back of a report from a local daily claiming voter cards would be scrapped as a requirement for voting.
In the report, it is alleged that under the proposed changes, one would only need to present a national ID card or passport to register as a voter.
The report divulges that the idea stems from the belief that the current voter card system has become redundant in this era, particularly with the emergence of biometric registration and verification technologies like the Kenya Integrated Elections Management System (KIEMS).
Another rationale behind ditching the voter cards is the financial implications as fully relying on biometrics can significantly reduce operational costs.
