Kenya’s voter registration drive continues to gain traction, with over 250,000 new citizens added to the roll since the Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration (ECVR) exercise began in September last year.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) says the majority of these new registrants are concentrated in major urban centers, while remote counties struggle to keep pace.
IEBC Commissioner Alutalala Mukhwana revealed on Citizen TV’s ‘The Explainer’ on Tuesday night that Nairobi has recorded the highest number of new voters, reflecting the urban preference in the ongoing registration push.
Following Nairobi are Kiambu, Machakos, Nakuru, and Mombasa, where easier access to registration points and denser populations appear to drive the numbers.
Currently, Nairobi accounts for 49,055 new entries, with Kiambu contributing 20,404. Together, these two counties represent 27 per cent of all new registrations nationwide. Mombasa follows with 15,140 new voters, Machakos 11,687, and Nakuru 10,432. Other counties in the upper tier include Kitui at 9,401, Kisii 8,871, Kakamega 8,078, Meru 7,499, and Murang’a 7,267.
In contrast, voter registration remains minimal in arid and semi-arid counties. Isiolo leads the bottom with only 112 new voters, followed by Tana River at 241, Lamu 578, Elgeyo Marakwet 552, and Mandera 994. Dr. Mukhwana attributed these low numbers to scattered populations, nomadic lifestyles, and difficulties in obtaining identification documents.
“There are also the issues of do they get their ID cards in time? There are cases in Turkana, for example, where elderly people don’t have birth certificates, leave alone IDs,” he said, highlighting the barriers in rural areas.
The commissioner also noted low engagement among young voters. Only 32.65 per cent of the newly registered are aged 35 and below, with those aged 18 to 20 particularly underrepresented at 67,888.
“The youth engagement, as of today, remains low, but the overall percentage of the (newly registered) youth aged 35 and below stands at 32.65%. The 18-20 year olds are worst hit, we only have 67,888 of them.”
He pointed to delayed access to national IDs and limited civic education as major reasons for the poor uptake among young people. Dr. Mukhwana emphasized the need to start civic awareness programs in schools to ensure that young citizens are ready and motivated to register when eligible.
Overall, Kenya’s total voter count now stands at 22,352,923. The new registrants show a near gender balance, with 50.9 per cent male and 49.1 per cent female. Older voters continue to drive the surge, representing 67.35 per cent of the new registrations, signaling that the growth in voter numbers is currently led by middle-aged citizens rather than first-time voters.