By Christopher Omondi.
The Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC), through a press release has announced the resumption of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) as from 29th September 2025 in line with its constitutional mandate under article 88(4) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.
The body has however struggled to hit their targets in every registration phase and therefore raising concerns from the public on their preparedness for the process in terms of sensitization of youths who are the main target in these activities with the electoral body hoping to hit their aims.
In my community of Kondele ward, Kisumu County there is sensitization work already from youth groups and Community-Based Organizations, political and religious leaders all rallying the Youth to take part in voter registration in large numbers.
“Our youths deserve civic education on their responsibility and contribution to our electoral processes not only as voters but also as aspirants, we need to educate them and make them understand what we mean when we tell them that their vote matters,’’, said Rev. Mark Olum of Baptist Church in Metameta, Manyatta.
The IEBC announced that all eligible Kenyans, who are 18 years of age or older, posses’ a valid Kenyan Identity card or valid Kenyan passport and not already registered elsewhere can take part in the process with some concerns also raised, “Some of us have waited for our identity Cards for a while now and we are asking if its possible to register as voters using our waiting cards as we don’t know when will get our identity cards and the same can be said to those who applied for passports’’, a concern raised by Jayson Otieno.
The process has been brought down to the constituency level and eligible Kenyans may register at IEBC constituency office but this is still not enough for other residents as they claimed that, “The IEBC ought to do better, as Kisumu Central Constituency alone had over 30,000 new voters in 2022 compared to the previous years and we are expecting, I think it would be much better if it were to be brought down to the ward level’’, said Marcus Majiwa.
On their part, IEBC promised preparedness for the Continuous Voter Registration exercise with key tasks which include mapping of registration centers in terms of existing and proposed. They will also increase stakeholders’ engagement in forums at the constituency level to build awareness and the preparation of the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) is underway to ensure success.
