Speaking in Mombasa during a youth engagement forum on voting, IEBC chairperson Erastus Ethekon said the current registration stands figure at about 90,000, acknowledging the number is still low but assuring that a major mass registration drive will kick off after the upcoming by-elections in various parts of the country.
“There was agitation among the youths asking when we were going to roll out the voter registration. The numbers are still not as encouraging as we envisioned. For example, here in Mombasa our projections were for us to have 183,000 new registered voters by the next general election and currently we just have 3,976 voters registered. This is lower than expected,” said the IEBC chair.
IEBC voter registration in Mvita, Mombasa County on October 23, 2025.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation
Mr Ethekon attributed the low number of new voter registrations to the fact that registration was only taking place at constituency offices, limiting access to registration services. He explained that once the November 27 by-elections are over, the IEBC will ensure that registration clerks are available in around 1,450 wards.
“There are some countries where voting is mandatory; however, here in Kenya, it is not. Therefore, we need as many newly registered voters as possible for this exercise. We are already recruiting clerks, and each Huduma Centre will have two clerks. Our target is to establish 30,000 registration centres,” he said.
According to the commission's CEO Marjan Hussein Marjan, another issue that had played a role in the low numbers was the issue of slow processing of identification cards, which are crucial to the process.
“I meet Kenyans with dreams to change their lives and those around them, and exercising their right to vote is one of those dreams. But many do not have identification cards, which means they cannot get passports or even register as voters. It may not be our direct mandate, but this affects our work, and we, therefore, need to find ways to engage those in charge to act,” said the CEO.
The government recently waived ID registration and replacement fee for six months to enable Kenyans get the crucial document.
Human rights activist Hussein Khalid complained about the low voter registration, saying it was a sign of voter apathy that was ailing Kenya as a democracy.
“Mombasa's 3,000 is not enough; we need to do better. Kenyans should know that their one vote can make a change. At the moment, youths alone, who are 56 percent of the population, could decide the president if they vote as a bloc. We need to register,” said the Vocal Africa CEO during the voter sensitisation training organised by the organisation and Amnesty International.
IEBC voter registration in Mvita, Mombasa County on October 23, 2025.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation
Mr Ethekon, however, urged young people not to be coerced to register as voters in a particular ward or to change their details to a different one for the gains of a few individuals with political ambitions.
He also assured Kenyans that they were ready for the by-elections, saying the electoral body had suffered bad publicity for bungling elections, a statement that, according to him, was not true.
“We have reviewed our electoral systems and would like to say it is impossible to rig. They say that there is ballot stuffing just to discourage those who want to vote. We need to avoid this and protect our democracy,” said Mr Ethekon.
