The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has suspended the continuous voter registration for a period of one year beginning May 4.
In a Gazette Notice dated April 28, the Commission also suspended the change in registration of voters for a period of nine months with both exercises scheduled to resume in on March 13, 2023.
The notice signed by IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati explained that the exercise is set to allow for verification of voters ahead of the August 9 polls.
"In exercise of powers conferred by Article 83 and 88 (4) of the Constitution of Kenya, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) gives notice that the application for new registration and change in registration of voters in Kenya and for Kenyan citizens living outside the country shall be suspended from May 4, 2022 to March 13, 2023.
"The Commission notifies the public that this suspension is to enable the availability of the register of voters to the public for purposes of verification of biometric data and particulars of registered voters in accordance with section 6A of the Elections Act, 2011," read the notice in part.
In a separate notice, Chebukati also directed that the verification exercise should begin on May 4 and last for a period of 30 days till June 2, 2022.
The Commission also urged Kenyans to verify their details to ensure that no one is locked out of the August General Election exercise.
"Visit your registration centre or IEBC office in your Constituency with your original ID or valid passport that you used to register as a voter," read the statement in part.
As of the second National Enhance continuous Voter Registration exercise which concluded on February 6, the commission had added 1,031,645 new voters to its roll ahead of the election.
The target was far less from the 4.5 million voters that the commission targeted during the exercise.
In the first phase of the exercise that ran for a period of one month closing on November 5, 2021, only 1.51 million new voters had been added to the final tally.
Nearly 20 million Kenyans have registered to vote barely 100 days to the upcoming General Election.
