The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has moved to widen access to the Kenyan electoral process for citizens living abroad, expanding the countries covered by diaspora voter registration from 12 in the 2022 General Election to 26 ahead of the August 2027 polls.
The expansion is part of the commission’s preparations to progressively increase the participation of Kenyans living outside the country. IEBC Chairman Erastus Ethekon said the commission has approved the mapping of additional countries, with diaspora registration expected to be undertaken under the second phase of Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration (ECVR II).
The move represents the largest expansion of Kenya’s overseas voting coverage since diaspora voting was introduced on a limited basis in 2013.
14 countries added
The 14 additional countries are Saudi Arabia, Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ghana, Italy, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Ireland, Türkiye, Ethiopia, China, Mozambique, Botswana and Oman.
The wording around the expansion reflects a distinction between countries where registration and voting facilities will be established and the wider Kenyan diaspora population.
In the 2022 election, IEBC facilitated diaspora voting in 12 countries: Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, South Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Under the planned arrangement, the commission will map the additional locations and establish the appropriate registration and voting mechanisms in accordance with the applicable electoral framework.
Constitutional right at the centre of the expansion
The IEBC says the initiative is grounded in Kenya’s constitutional requirement for the progressive realisation of the voting rights of citizens living outside the country.
Article 82(1)(e) of the Constitution requires legislation providing for the progressive registration of citizens residing outside Kenya and the progressive realisation of their right to vote.
The commission has also pointed to Article 38, which guarantees citizens political rights, and Article 88, which establishes the IEBC’s responsibility for voter registration and elections.
Ethekon said living outside Kenya does not remove a citizen’s constitutional right to participate in elections.
The IEBC’s own 2025–2027 Election Operations Plan identifies increasing the number of countries participating in diaspora elections and establishing additional registration centres as priorities for the 2027 electoral cycle.
A potentially significant voting population
The expansion comes against the backdrop of a large Kenyan population living outside the country.
Data cited by the IEBC in April indicated that approximately 1.46 million Kenyans were living abroad, while about 629,688 were registered with Kenyan diplomatic missions. At that point, however, only 10,443 were registered as voters.
The figures highlight the difference between the number of Kenyans living abroad and the much smaller number formally registered to vote.
The IEBC has therefore identified diaspora registration as one area in which access to the electoral process can be expanded.
The commission’s diaspora engagement framework covers identifying and mapping Kenyans abroad, voter education, engagement with stakeholders, voter registration and facilitating participation through legally authorised mechanisms.
Voting will still be limited
Despite the expansion, diaspora voters will not participate in every election on the ballot paper.
Under the current framework, Kenyans registered abroad can vote in presidential elections and national referendums. They do not currently vote for governors, senators, members of the National Assembly, women representatives or members of county assemblies from outside Kenya.
This means the 2027 expansion will increase access to the presidential and referendum vote rather than create a system in which Kenyans overseas participate in all six elective positions contested inside Kenya.
No e-voting for 2027
Another important limitation is that the 2027 expansion will not introduce electronic voting for Kenyans abroad.
IEBC Vice Chairperson Fahima Abdallah said the commission is examining the legal and technological requirements for eventual diaspora e-voting, but that it will not be available in the 2027 General Election.
Under the existing legal framework, voting outside Kenya is conducted through designated Kenyan diplomatic missions.
Abdallah has said the commission wants to develop the technology and address the necessary legal requirements so that electronic voting could become possible in a future election cycle.
That would be a substantial change from the current system, under which a Kenyan living abroad may have to travel considerable distances to reach a Kenyan embassy, high commission or consulate designated as a voting centre.
Distance remains a challenge
The geographical distribution of Kenyans abroad presents one of the biggest practical challenges.
A Kenyan living in a country with a large territory may be hundreds of kilometres from the nearest diplomatic mission. The cost and time involved in travelling to a designated polling centre can therefore become a barrier even when a citizen is legally eligible to vote.
The expansion to 26 countries is intended to address part of that problem by bringing registration and voting opportunities to more locations.
The IEBC’s operational plan specifically recognises the need to increase registration centres and polling stations for citizens living outside Kenya and to strengthen coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and diaspora organisations.
Registration is part of wider 2027 preparations
The diaspora initiative comes as the IEBC accelerates preparations for the August 10, 2027 General Election.
The commission has projected a national voters’ register of about 28.5 million voters for the 2027 election. By August 20, 2026, the IEBC said 2,936,516 people had registered since Continuous Voter Registration began in September 2025, although that figure did not include the diaspora registration exercise.
The commission says biometric technology will be used to support registration and voter verification and to improve the accuracy of the register.
For the diaspora, however, the process requires additional coordination because registration and voting take place through diplomatic missions outside Kenya.
From a limited experiment to wider participation
Kenya’s diaspora voting system has expanded gradually.
The first limited participation took place in 2013. The number of countries was subsequently increased, reaching 12 by the 2022 General Election. The planned move to 26 countries for 2027 therefore represents a significant expansion in geographical coverage.
The IEBC’s approach reflects the constitutional principle of progressive realisation rather than an immediate extension of the full domestic voting system to every Kenyan abroad.
That distinction is important because the commission must balance wider access with practical considerations including registration, identification, voter verification, staffing, ballot security, diplomatic coordination and the legal framework governing elections outside Kenya.
What the expansion means for Kenyans abroad
For eligible Kenyans living in the 26 participating countries, the immediate significance is greater access to voter registration and, ultimately, participation in the 2027 presidential election and any national referendum held alongside it.
For those living outside the designated countries, the expansion does not yet create a general right to vote electronically or at any location of their choice.
The IEBC will still have to complete the mapping exercise, establish registration arrangements and communicate the details of where and when eligible citizens can register.
The commission’s earlier planning documents indicated that diaspora registration for the 2027 election was expected to be undertaken in 2027, subject to budgetary availability.
A larger diaspora voice, but more work ahead
The decision to increase coverage from 12 to 26 countries marks an important stage in Kenya’s gradual expansion of overseas electoral participation.
It gives more Kenyans abroad a practical route towards exercising their constitutional voting rights, while leaving major questions particularly electronic voting and participation in other elective positions for future reforms.
For the IEBC, the challenge now shifts from announcing the expansion to implementing it: mapping the additional countries, establishing registration centres, educating voters and ensuring that the overseas process meets the same standards of transparency, identification and electoral integrity expected inside Kenya.
With the 2027 General Election approaching, the diaspora vote is therefore becoming an increasingly visible part of Kenya’s electoral preparations.
