Election preparations for 2027 are accelerating across key state institutions as the Interior Ministry, security agencies, and the electoral body deepen coordination aimed at preventing violence, misinformation, and other risks that could affect the polls.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the government is committed to ensuring a stable and secure electoral environment, stressing that all institutions involved must remain neutral as political activity builds up ahead of the vote. He said the ongoing coordination is meant to strengthen preparedness throughout the entire election period.
“Our responsibility is beyond political factions,” he noted. “Our mandate is to the state, and anything that is a threat to the state, whether it is from the side you like or the opposite, you must always stand by the Constitution and protect the state.”
Murkomen said a national Election Security Preparedness Framework has already been completed, drawing lessons from past elections dating back to 1992. He said the framework focuses on electoral violence, misinformation, cyber threats, hotspot mapping, and stronger coordination between institutions involved in election management and security.
He warned that political violence remains one of the biggest risks ahead of 2027, especially during party nominations, where internal contests often determine final outcomes in many areas. He urged political parties to take responsibility for ensuring their nomination processes are peaceful and well managed.
On security operations, Murkomen said law enforcement agencies have intensified crackdowns on illegal firearms and criminal gangs, with more than 2,000 illegal guns recovered through ongoing operations, mainly in the North Rift and northern Kenya.
“We have now surpassed 2,000 guns that have been collected from civilians voluntarily,” he said, adding that operations will continue without discrimination or political bias.
He also raised concern over rising misinformation and artificial intelligence-generated content, warning that fake narratives could weaken public trust in institutions during the election period. He called for closer cooperation with the justice system to ensure swift prosecution of those spreading false information and incitement online.
On national identity registration, Murkomen said reforms have made it easier for citizens to obtain and replace identity cards, with projections showing more than 3 million IDs will be processed within a year after removal of vetting barriers and first-time application fees. However, he noted that a significant number of identity cards remain uncollected across the country.
He said about 489,000 identity cards are still awaiting collection, including around 69,000 in Nairobi.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja said the National Police Service has already completed a nationwide election threat assessment to guide preparedness, noting that election security is now treated as a continuous process rather than a one-day event.
“The electoral cycle is no longer viewed as a one-day event, but a continuous process,” he explained, pointing to risks such as hate speech, political intolerance, organized gangs, online incitement, and cross-border criminal activity.
He said police are working under a layered strategy that includes intelligence gathering, hotspot mapping, rapid response deployment, cyber monitoring, and coordination with other agencies to manage emerging threats.
IEBC Chair Erastus Ethekon said the commission has begun early consultations with stakeholders as part of long-term preparations for the 2027 General Election. He said recent by-elections under the current commission benefited from improved cooperation with security agencies, helping reduce incidents of violence in key areas.
He added that a recent voter registration exercise recorded 2.3 million new voters within 30 days, pushing total new registrations to 2.6 million. However, he expressed concern that many eligible Kenyans are still unable to register due to lack of identity documents, particularly in border and marginalized regions.
He warned political actors against sponsoring violence or criminal gangs during campaigns, saying the commission will strictly enforce the electoral code of conduct and may bar candidates found in violation.
Ethekon said peacebuilding, mediation, and conflict prevention will remain central to election preparedness, stressing that early coordination between institutions is critical to safeguarding the credibility of the 2027 elections.