NAIROBI, Kenya Apr 28 – Long queues were reported at Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission registration centres across Nairobi as Kenyans rushed to beat today’s voter registration deadline.
The 30-day Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration exercise, themed ‘Deepening Democracy in Kenya Through Inclusive Voter Registration,’ ends today.
Despite government efforts to fast-track production, many applicants, particularly youths, reported experiencing delays in receiving their national IDs.
Leaders and stakeholders have warned that the delay in ID issuance could lock out thousands of eligible, new voters from participating in the upcoming general election.
IEBC Chairperson Erastus Ethekon has urged eligible citizens to register before the deadline, noting that continuous registration will still be available at Huduma Centres and IEBC offices.
So far, the commission says over 1.8 million new voters have been registered since the exercise began on March 30.
In its latest update released on Friday, April 24, 2026, the IEBC said the figure reflects an increase of 505,344 new registrations in six days, up from 1,370,930 reported on April 17, 2026.
Nairobi County leads in new registrations with 209,965, followed by Kiambu (97,557), Nakuru (81,166), Kakamega (80,711), and Machakos (65,616).
Other strong performers include Meru (56,486), Kilifi (54,171), Kisii (50,551), and Turkana (50,310). At the lower end, Lamu recorded the fewest registrations at 8,345, followed by Isiolo (9,291), Mandera (14,946), Samburu (17,361), and Nyamira (17,575).
The commission also reported 159,410 voter transfers and 2,817 updates to personal details during the same period.