IEBC chairman Erastus Ethekon /HANDOUT
The Independent Electoral and
Boundaries Commission (IEBC) now says it will be forced to regulate use of
mobile phones inside a polling station by voters.
The
electoral agency warned of a trend of voters taking pictures of marked ballots
and sharing them online in total violation of electoral rules.
According to IEBC, the acts, which threaten the integrity of the
elections were witnessed during the last by-election late last year.
“With the widespread use of
smartphones, the commission has observed a growing trend of voters using mobile
phones inside polling stations. This conduct was observed during the
by-elections held on 27th November 2025, where some voters photographed their
marked ballot papers and shared those images on social media,” chairman Erustus
Ethekon said.
He said the secrecy of the ballot is a constitutional right
guaranteed under Article 38(3)(b) and 81 (e) (i) of the constitution and is a
fundamental principle of democratic elections.
Any act that compromises this secrecy, Ethekon warned, including
photographing or recording a marked ballot paper, undermines the integrity of
the electoral process, exposes voters to undue influence, coercion and
vote-buying and constitutes an electoral offence.
“To prevent such occurrences, the commission will apply
administrative control measures at polling stations. These measures are
intended solely to protect voters and uphold the integrity of the electoral
process,” he said.
Ethekon spoke ahead of the Thursday by-election.
The vacant seats include Isiolo
South constituency in Isiolo county, West Kabras ward seat, (Kakamega
county), Mumini ward seat and Evurore ward seat in Embu county.
Ethekon said key milestones that
include completion of procurement of election materials, gazettement of
nominated candidates, polling stations and tallying centres, servicing,
testing, configuration and readiness of the Kenya Integrated Election
Management System (Kiems) kits for deployment have been achieved.
Others include packaging and dispatch of all strategic and
non-strategic election materials including ballot papers to the respective
electoral areas; and training of election officials.
“The commission further reminds the
public that voters who require assistance due to disability, illiteracy or
other lawful reasons are entitled to be assisted by a person of their own
choice. However, only one assistant is permitted, and no person shall assist
more than one voter,” Ethekon said.
During previous by-elections, the commission noted concerns regarding
the presence of unauthorised persons, intimidation and references to so-called
“super agents” within polling and tallying centres.
“Each participating political party or candidate is entitled to
one agent per polling station, and only one chief agent per candidate is
allowed at a tallying centre.
There is no provision in law for “super
agents” or any unauthorised persons to operate within polling or tallying
centres.”
The IEBC boss said politicians, political party officials, state
officers and public officers who are registered voters are entitled to vote
only at their designated polling stations and that they are not permitted to
move from one polling station to another.
“No person shall be admitted into a polling station if that
person is wearing a badge, clothing, symbol, or any other item signifying
support for a political party or candidate,” Ethekon said.