The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has clarified that not all voters registered before 2012 must re-register. The requirement applies only to those who did not undergo biometric registration since 2012. Chairman Erastus Ethekon stated that pre-2012 data was legally disposed of during electoral reforms.
The IEBC issued a statement on April 4, 2026, to address confusion from its earlier communication. The commission stated that voters enrolled before 2012 are not in the current biometric Register of Voters (RoV) unless they re-registered afterward.
Chairman Erastus Ethekon said, “Consequently, individuals who had previously enrolled as voters before 2012 are not part of the current biometric RoV unless they subsequently presented themselves for fresh registration.” He added, “If you registered as a voter between 2012 and 2026, you do not need to register again.”
The biometric system was introduced in 2012 following post-2007/08 electoral reforms. Pre-2012 manual data was legally disposed of, with the commission registering about 14.5 million new voters then. The RoV grew to 19.6 million in 2017 and 22.1 million by 2022.
The clarification followed public concerns over potential blanket re-registration or data deletion. The IEBC expects to expand the roll to about 28.8 million through ongoing registration ahead of the 2027 elections.
