Kenyan students to get National IDs and be registered as voters automatically at 18 under new Bill

Kenyan students turning 18 while in school will automatically be issued national Identity Cards and registered as voters before leaving high school.

This follows the approval of the Registration of Persons (Amendment) Bill, 2024, by the Budget and Appropriations Committee, which seeks to streamline voter registration and reduce the costs associated with the process.

The committee, chaired by Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi, has approved the publication of the Bill, which mandates registration of students who reach 18 while still in school. Further amendments have been proposed to synchronise the issuance of IDs with voter registration before students complete secondary school.

“To cure low registration of voters, why don’t you amend the Bill further to synchronise issuance of IDs to students and registration as voters?” Baringo Women Representative Florence Jematiah posed.

“This will help the country and especially the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), to cut costs of voter registration.”

Sponsored by Kipipiri MP Wanjiku Muhia, the Bill seeks to amend the Registration of Persons Act, CAP 107, introducing new requirements for registering students who turn 18 while still in school.

If enacted, schools will be required to register any learner who attains the age of 18 within 30 days of their birthday. Muhia said the current law requires every individual to appear before a registration officer within 90 days of turning 18 and that failing to do so constitutes an offence.

“Currently, the National Registration Bureau usually conducts registration of students in high school in an exercise conducted in conjunction with the school management. Ensuring that secondary students are registered for national ID cards offers several benefits, both for the students and the nation,” Muhia said.

“It empowers students with legal recognition and access to various government services, including application for scholarships, and participation in national processes such as voter registration.”

While supporting the Bill, Atandi asked Muhia to propose further changes addressing Jematiah’s concerns before the Bill is published.

“Ours as a committee was to check whether it was a money Bill, and it has passed that criterion. The Bill will now undergo the normal Parliamentary processes as others when being considered by the House,” he said.

An analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) estimates that implementing the law will cost taxpayers Sh451.5 million in the first year, Sh474.1 million in the second, and Sh497.9 million in the third. County Registration Bureaus currently receive only Sh100,000 per quarter to facilitate registration exercises.

“It is observed that currently the County Registration officers do extend such services of registering students in schools, though under strained financial resources due to limited funding,” Muhia said.

“I am not opposed to the proposal that we synchronise the issuance of IDs and voter registration. I will consider further amendments.”

The PBO calculations assume that National Registration Bureau staff will visit each of Kenya’s 10,752 secondary schools monthly to register students who have turned 18. Two officers per school will be facilitated with Sh3,000 each per one-day exercise for lunch, transport, and other subsistence costs.

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Student registration will take place during the seven-month school calendar.

The approval of the Bill comes as the IEBC continues to roll out its nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, but the Commission is struggling to attract large numbers of new voters. Registration centres have recorded low turnout, particularly in rural areas and smaller towns.

IEBC data as of October 2 shows mixed performance across counties. Nairobi City leads with 1,597 new registrations and forty-two transfers, followed by Mombasa, Kiambu and Kisii, which recorded moderate progress. However, several counties posted fewer than 100 new voters in the first week, including Nyamira (10), Lamu (1), Tharaka Nithi (24), Embu (71), Tana River (21), and Isiolo (34), highlighting the sluggish pace of the exercise outside urban centres.

Since the launch of the CVR on September 29, the Commission says it has registered 7,048 new voters, with 259 transferring their registration to new electoral areas and eight updating personal details.

“Every eligible Kenyan should have a fair and equal opportunity to register as a voter and exercise their democratic right. The registration exercise is accessible, transparent, and efficient across the country,” IEBC Chairperson Edung Ethekon said.