The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) recently addressed confusion among voters regarding missing details on the official verification portal, specifically the “Not Applicable (N/A)” status appearing in place of polling station and stream information.
The commission attributes these blank fields to the ongoing voter registration exercise. Officials explained that the system currently displays these results because the final organizational phase of the electoral roll remains incomplete.
“Why are your voter verification results showing your polling station and stream are “Not Applicable (N/A)“? This is because voter registration is going on,” the IEBC said in a public notice.
According to the agency, the process of assigning voters to specific stations occurs only after the registration period closes.
“Once voter registration concludes, the commission will split registration/polling centres into polling stations (streams) of up to a maximum of 700 voters. The Final Register will be published with your specific polling station and stream number,” the statement continued.
The electoral body issued this clarification following a wave of social media complaints, as many Kenyans expressed frustration and anxiety after failing to locate their registration data online. To ease public concerns and discourage panic, the commission urged citizens to remain patient as they finalize the registry.
The Truth About Re-Registering for Pre-2012 Voters
The commission faced a separate wave of criticism just a week ago following a controversial statement regarding older voter records. Initial reports suggested that anyone who registered before 2012 without being captured in the biometric system would need to register as a new voter during the current exercise.
The IEBC later clarified that Kenyans do not need to re-register if they enrolled in the biometric system established after the 2010 Constitution and the 2012 boundaries delimitation.
“Should those who registered before 2012 as voters need to register afresh? Not at all unless they did not register as voters from 2012 when the new Register of Voters was established,” the commission explained.
The electoral body reinforced that the biometric register has served as the official record for all Kenyan elections since 2013 and remains the authoritative database for the upcoming polls.
By the 2022 general elections, the commission maintained an audited register of 22,120,458 voters, proving the long-term reliability of the biometric system. Officials clarified that their recent directive only applies to a small group of individuals rather than the general public.
“So we have not asked all old voters pre-2012 to register a fresh. Just those few who might have missed registering in 2012 and who, subsequently, have never registered under the Biometric system to date,” the commission said.
Recent data highlights steady progress in expanding the voter base. As of March 23, Nairobi led the country with 49,055 new registrations, while Kiambu County followed with 20,404. Together, these two regions account for 27% of all new voters recorded so far.
As of April 2, the IEBC confirmed it had successfully registered 344,316 new voters through the Enhanced Mass Voter Registration program. The agency continues its push toward an ambitious target of 2.5 million new voters by 2027.
