The voting rights for the diaspora community and inmates could be expanded beyond presidential elections to include other elective positions ahead of the 2027 general election if the proposals by a committee of parliament are adopted.
The proposals by the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) of the National Assembly, in a report to the House, note that the expansion of the rights of voters to participate in elections is in line with the constitution.
CIOC, chaired by Suba South MP Caroli Omondi, also wants IEBC to propose a law change to recognise national identity cards as valid voting documents for Kenyans in the diaspora, in addition to passports, “to expand electoral inclusivity” beyond the current 12 countries, and remove barriers to participation.”
“The commission to provide detailed plans for expanding diaspora voter registration centres with specific targets for the 2027 general election and a roadmap for progressive realisation of diaspora voting rights,” the CIOC report reads.
A voter displays the ink on his finger after voting at Ihururu Primary School in Nyeri County on April 14, 2022.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
During the 2022 general elections, 7,483 inmates were registered across the country’s 121 GK prisons that were gazetted as polling stations, with Kisumu Main at 494, recording the highest voter registration.
Kitui Women and Busia Women Wing polling stations, with one voter each, had the least number of registered voters.
The CIOC report captures IEBC stating that despite the progress made, only 10,443 diaspora voters were registered in 2022 across 12 countries, with a 58 percent turnout, “highlighting the need for expanded voter registration centers to enhance participation.”
Articles 38 and 82 of the constitution guarantee all Kenyan citizens the right to political participation, including voting, regardless of geographic location.
Article 82 (1) (e) of the Constitution specifically guarantees the progressive realisation of voting rights for Kenyan citizens residing outside the country.
The policy on voter registration and voting for citizens residing outside Kenya, established in 2015 and reviewed in 2021, provides the framework for operationalising this right.
The Elections Act and the Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2012, established the legal framework for diaspora voting, assigning the commission the responsibility to operationalise these provisions.
Kenyans at a past event in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Kenya Diaspora Alliance (KDA) has said it is unfair for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to continue holding the Kenyans in the Diaspora to ransom by moving to the Supreme Court to challenge the ruling of the Appellate court.
Photo credit: File | Nation
IEBC has designated Kenyan missions in foreign countries as polling stations for Kenyans residing in those countries.
However, the distance to the designated polling stations has been the main challenge, especially for those who stay in far-flung towns with a majority disenfranchised.
The 2013 general election, the first under the 2010 constitution, marked the first-ever diaspora voting exercise in Kenya's history, with implementation limited to four East African Community (EAC) member states- Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.
The 2017 polls saw an incremental expansion of the diaspora voting to include South Africa, bringing the total number of participating countries to five.
The 2022 general election “marked the most significant expansion of diaspora voting to date”, with the operationalisation of voting rights in 12 countries.
The expansion included the addition of the Kenyan diaspora in the United States of America (USA), Canada, the United Kingdom (UK), Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and South Sudan, to the existing list.
The commission stated that registered diaspora voters increased to 10,443 in 2022, representing a more than twofold increase from 2017, “but still a fraction of the estimated millions of diaspora population.”
“The commission is required to provide detailed plans for expanding diaspora voter registration centers beyond the current 12 countries, with specific targets for the 2027 General Election and a roadmap for progressive realization of diaspora voting rights,” reads the CIOC report.
The 2022 IEBC diaspora gazetted voter registration data presented to parliament shows that in Tanzania, the Kenya Embassy polling station in Dar-es-Salaam had 496 voters and the Kenya consulate in Arusha polling station with 410 voters.
In Uganda, the Kenyan High Commission in Kampala polling station had 471 voters.
The Kenya Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda had 545 registered voters, 201 voters at the Kenya Embassy in Bujumbura, Burundi and 479 registered voters at the Kenya Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.
At the Kenya Embassy in Juba, South Sudan, polling station 489 Kenyans were registered as voters, 314 voters at the Kenya Embassy polling station in Berlin, Germany, 399 voters at the Kenya High Commission polling station in London, UK and 479 voters at the Kenya Embassy in Doha, Qatar.
In Abu Dhabi, UAE, 103 Kenyans were registered as voters and 642 voters at the Kenya consulate in Dubai.
IEBC had three polling stations in Canada with 366 registered voters, including 112 voters at the Kenya High Commission in Ottawa, 167 voters at the Kenya Honorary Consulate in Toronto and 87 voters at the Kenya Honorary Consulate in Vancouver.
The commission also had three polling stations with a cumulative 744 registered voters spread across the three cities of the USA.
They include 314 voters at the Kenya Embassy in Washington, DC, 298 voters at the Kenya Consulate in New York and 132 voters at the Kenya Consulate in Los Angeles.
