Why voter registration in by‑election zones will resume after 28 days

IEBC chairperson Erastus Ethekon speaks to the media after he held a security briefing with the Homa Bay County Security team in Kasipul on November 26, 2025. (Photo: X/Erastus Ethekon)

By Lucy Mumbi
Tuesday, December 2, 2025

IEBC will restart voter registration in by-election areas only after the 28-day petition period lapses, as opposition signals disputes and the commission develops a digital pre-registration system.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has announced that it will reopen voter registration in counties that recently held by-elections only after the legally allowed petition period has ended.

The petition period, which runs for 28 days from the date election results are declared, allows any aggrieved party to challenge the outcome of the November 27 mini-polls before the courts and must lapse before any changes can be made to the voter register in the affected areas.

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The Commission emphasised that no registration activity can take place until the 28 days have fully elapsed.

“The Commission will resume Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in the affected by-election areas after the statutory petition period has lapsed,” IEBC said.

“Section 76 of the Election Act provides for 28 days’ post-declaration of results as the window for filing petitions, if any, challenging the validity of the by-election. In this regard, CVR cannot resume until this window closes and no petition has been filed.”

The clarification comes a day after the United Opposition signalled plans to dispute the results of the by-elections. Speaking on Sunday, November 30, Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka alleged voter suppression and interference in some contests.

He cited Mbeere North and Malava constituencies, where United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidates were declared winners, as areas of concern.

“We have evidence that some senior government officials made calls in Mbeere North and directed that the candidate, Leo Wa Muthende, must win the polls,” Kalonzo claimed.

As the political dispute unfolds, the National Assembly has issued a formal notification for the orientation of Members-elect following their victory in the November 27 by-elections.

Last week, IEBC declared Harrison Garama Kombe (Magarini), Ahmed Maalim Hassan (Banissa), Boyd Were Ongondo (Kasipul), David Athman Ndakwa (Malava), Leo Wa Muthende Njeru (Mbeere North) and Moses Okoth Omondi (Ugunja) as MPs-elect.

The pre-swearing orientation will take place on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at the Speakers’ Gardens in Nairobi from 9.00 am. It will cover bio-data registration, issuance of parliamentary IDs, chamber system briefings, a tour of Parliament precincts, an overview of members’ services and a briefing on key legislative processes.

Members-elect have been instructed to carry their original ID or passport, KRA PIN, IEBC certificate of election and updated CV.

Meanwhile, IEBC Commissioner Anne Nderitu disclosed that the Commission is developing a digital voter registration platform that will allow Kenyans to begin the process on their mobile phones. She said the system, currently under development by IEBC’s Directorate of ICT, will include an online pre-registration feature.

Nderitu explained that the platform will enable citizens to scan their national identification cards and input personal information remotely.

“In terms of digital registration, we are actually processing and coming up with what we are calling a pre-registration module, where you capture your data just the way you are saying you capture your data. Indeed, you are going to scan your ID at the back… then you populate your data into the system,” she said.