By John Mutiso
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has cautioned members of the public against double voter registration.
In a statement on Thursday, November 20, IEBC said double registration is an electoral offence punishable by law.
The commission also noted that its systems flag out any individual who attempts to register as a voter more than once.
“Double registration is an electoral offense. Our system will definitely flag out a person who attempts to register as a voter more than once.
“We urge members of the public to refrain from sharing incorrect information during the ongoing voter registration exercise,” IEBC stated.
On September 29, the electoral body embarked on a Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) drive ahead of the 2027 general election.
IEBC is planning to register 6.8 million new voters by the end of the exercise, which will have three phases. The first stage of the CVR is targeting to register 10% of the overall target.
A First Enhanced CVR drive will follow after the conclusion of the November 27, 2025, by-elections. This phase will target 40% of the overall target.
The Second Enhanced CVR, aimed at reaching 50% of the target, is scheduled to commence in the next financial year.
On Thursday, IEBC Commissioner Ann Nderitu disclosed that only 140,000 new voters have been registered by the commission so far.
“We are at around 140,000. We are still not doing very well, given that we aim to achieve 6.8 million new voters,” she stated.
The IEBC commissioner attributed the low number of new voters to a last-minute culture among Kenyans.
“I don’t think it is the information that is not out there. There is a bad Kenyan culture of waiting until the last minute, you still think there is time, and because it is a continuous voter registration, you just wait,” Nderitu stated.
