The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is considering expanding diaspora voter registration and participation from 12 countries covered in the 2022 General Election to 26 countries in the 2027 polls.
The proposed expansion would add 14 countries to the existing list and increase the number of destinations where Kenyans living abroad can register and participate in elections.
IEBC Chairman Erastus Ethekon said the commission had approved the process of mapping additional countries ahead of the rollout of the second phase of Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration (ECVR II).
“The Commission has proposed to expand diaspora voter registration and participation from the twelve (12) countries covered during the 2022 General Election to twenty-six (26) countries in the 2027 General Election,” Ethekon said.
The 12 countries where diaspora voting was conducted in 2022 were Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, South Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Under the diaspora voting framework, each participating country is treated as a single polling centre for purposes of tallying votes, even where voting takes place at more than one Kenyan diplomatic mission within that country.
IEBC said the planned expansion forms part of its Diaspora Engagement Framework, which provides for the identification and mapping of Kenyans living abroad, voter education, stakeholder engagement, voter registration and facilitation of electoral participation through legally authorised mechanisms.
The commission said living outside Kenya does not extinguish a citizen’s constitutional right to participate in the electoral process.
Article 82(1)(e) of the Constitution provides for the progressive registration of citizens residing outside Kenya and the progressive realisation of their right to vote.
IEBC has progressively expanded diaspora registration since it was introduced on a limited scale during the 2013 General Election.
The proposed expansion to 26 countries would therefore mark another step in the commission’s efforts to widen access to voter registration and participation among Kenyans living abroad ahead of the 2027 General Election.
