Kenya could be on course to conduct its first-ever early elections, if an IEBC commissioner's recent revelations are anything to go by.
Anne Nderitu, a commissioner of the IEBC, recently revealed that the commission was exploring the possibility of introducing early voting and online voting ahead of the 2027 polls.
Asked what she was looking forward to, Nderitu said, “To me, it is early voting, which we are looking into. So that those participating in elections do so a day before. We usually have over 600,000 employees on election day, and the majority of those people, due to placement, are not able to vote. It is exciting and would be a game-changer."
According to the commissioner, early voting is seen as part of efforts to make the election process more inclusive, accessible and efficient for all Kenyans, particularly those who face challenges in reaching polling stations because of work commitments or geographical constraints.
Early voting, although a familiar concept across several democracies globally, has never been deployed in Kenya, which has been marred by episodes of distrust towards electoral bodies for more than two decades.
How Early Voting Works
But just how practical is early voting? The concept of allowing citizens to cast their ballots before the official election day has been done in countries like the United States, Canada and Australia, and there is evidence to show that such measures increase voter turnout while reducing congestion at polling stations.
Based on how it has worked in countries which have deployed it, early voting will still require voters to present their IDs and undergo biometric verification.
Once verified, the voter is issued with the same ballot papers which will be issued on election day. It is worth noting that these papers and ballot boxes should be similar to the ones used on the actual day for the elections.
Where the early voting slightly differs from normal voting is instead of counting the votes almost immediately, the ballot is placed into a sealed early-voting ballot box which is tamper-proof, serialised and recorded.
Observers and party agents witness the sealing of the box, which will stay sealed until the main counting period begins.
It goes without saying that since counting happens later, early ballots are stored in a guarded room for security. In some cases, they are fitted with unique seal codes and monitored using surveillance cameras.
Online voting
Commissioner Nderitu also highlighted the potential for online voting, especially for Kenyans living in the diaspora, explaining that the commission could start piloting the system with overseas voters before rolling it out progressively.
Online voting would allow Kenyans abroad to participate in elections without having to travel to embassies or consulates, which has been a significant barrier to diaspora participation in the past.
“We can start piloting with people in the diaspora in terms of people voting online, then we do it progressively,” Nderitu said, emphasising that simplifying the voting process would encourage more young people, who make up a large chunk of votes, to turn out.
