A person nominated to a county assembly by a political party must be a registered voter in that region, the electoral agency has proposed, in what could affect hundreds of ward representatives if MPs approve suggested new rules.

At the same time, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) wants names of female nominees to the National Assembly, the Senate and County Assemblies to come first in every political party list, giving them the first shot at the nomination slots, instead of the current system where names are interchanged per gender, but there is no clause dictating which gender comes first.

At the same time, the IEBC is seeking to have prosecution powers to handle election related cases in what could hasten hearing and conclusion of such cases.

The commission now wants the proposals passed by August 31, or at least a year to the August 10, 2027, General Election.

Read: MPs, IEBC plot new rules for 2027 elections as Ruto seeks second and final term

“All other electoral laws need to be considered and passed on or before September 2026 to enable the commission to prepare training and sensitisation materials and strategic materials (statutory forms, manuals),” reads an IEBC document presented to the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee during its recent retreat with the electoral agency in Mombasa.

Erastus Ethekon — Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Chairperson Erastus Edung Ethekon during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between IEBC and the Kenya Media Sector Working Group on March 27, 2026 at Pullman Hotel.

Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group

The proposals seen by the Nation range from voter identification, prosecutorial powers, transmission of election results from polling stations, and nomination of Members of the National Assembly, Senate, and Members of the County Assemblies, among others.

Electoral Code of Conduct

The commission, in its proposals to the George Murugara-led committee, wants Parliament to repeal Section 20 on breach of the Electoral Code of Conduct to grant it prosecutorial powers over election-related offences.

It argues that the Supreme Court affirmed this as IEBC’s mandate and not that of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).

National Assembly Justice and Legal Affairs Committee Chairperson, George Murugara.

Photo credit: Boniface Mwangi | Nation Media Group

“The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) requests restoring powers to prosecute election offences (under Article 252(1)(a)) due to low ODPP prosecution rates of electoral offences,” reads the proposal.

IEBC has also proposed a review of Clause 19(8A) of the Elections Laws (Amendment) Bill to require that a person nominated to a county assembly by a political party must be a registered voter in that county.

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“A person shall not be nominated by a political party under subsection (4) unless the person is, on the date of submission of the party list, a registered voter in any of the wards in the county in which the person is nominated,” reads the proposal.

This means that if one is a registered voter in Nairobi County, they cannot be nominated as an MCA by their political party in Kwale County.

The commission also argues that the same requirement should apply to nominations to the National Assembly and Senate.

“Review Clause 19(8A) to provide that the requirement for one to be a registered voter in a county applies to lists under Articles 97 and 98 for the National Assembly and Senate,” reads the proposal.

This means that if a political party is nominating an individual from Nyeri County to either the National Assembly or Senate, the person must be a registered voter in Nyeri.

According to the law, political parties normally submit a list of 12 nominees for either the National Assembly or Senate. The law stipulates that not more than two people on the nomination list should be from the same county.

The commission is also pushing for the amendment of Section 36(2) of the Elections Laws (Amendment) Bill on party list nominations to provide that the list shall alternate between male and female nominees.

Currently, the law does not specify which gender should come first. However, the commission now wants party lists to begin with a female.

“A party list submitted under Section 1(a), (c), (d), (e) and (f) shall commence with the name of a female candidate and alternate between male and female candidates in the order in which they are listed,” reads the proposal.

This means that if a party has one nomination slot to either the National Assembly, Senate or County Assembly, the candidate must be a woman. If the party has three slots, at least one of them must be a woman, following the alternating principle.

The commission argues that the move is aimed at achieving the elusive two-thirds gender requirement in Parliament.

The proposal is also intended to increase women’s representation in leadership.

The commission is further pushing for an amendment of Section 38A on the number of voters per polling station, which it wants increased from 700 to 800.

“For the purposes of efficient and effective conduct of elections, the number of voters per polling station shall not exceed eight hundred,” reads the proposal.

Read: IEBC: Why comprehensive review of boundaries is impossible before 2027

Sources in the committee told the Nation that the commission had initially proposed increasing the number of voters per polling station from 700 to 1,000, but members of the committee reduced it to 800.

In its justification, IEBC argued that it has new voter identification machines that are faster than those used in the 2013, 2017, and 2022 elections, hence the process would be quicker.

The commission also told the committee that it will deploy an additional clerk in the 2027 elections to help voters identify their voting streams, reducing time spent searching for names on the roll.

According to IEBC, the increase in voters per polling station is also based on empirical research and data from its post-election evaluation of the 2022 polls.

The commission estimates that if the proposal is adopted by MPs, voting in most polling stations will conclude by 4pm, eliminating long queues towards the 6pm deadline.

It, however, called on the committee to remove the lower limit of 50 voters per polling station to cater for far-flung areas with diverse needs.

On the proposal to amend Section 39 of the Elections Laws (Amendment) Bill, as proposed in the NADCO report on transmission and declaration of results within two hours, the commission rejected the proposal, saying it is not consistent with established electoral law.

“The proposed timeline of ‘two hours’ to electronically transmit results is not practical for any election official,” reads the submission.

For independent candidates, the commission has supported an amendment to Section 32 of the Bill on approval of symbols for independent candidates.

The section provides that “the Commission may refuse to approve the symbol of an independent candidate if the symbol is obscene or offensive, is the symbol of a political party or another independent candidate within the same county, or so nearly resembles the symbol of a political party or another independent candidate within the same county or another legal entity registered under any other written law.”

IEBC is also pushing for either an amendment or annulment of Regulation 34(2) of the Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2012, to allow registration of Kenyans in the diaspora outside the current designated areas.

Currently, the regulations limit voting and voter registration to Kenyan embassies, high commissions, and consulates.

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The commission argues that the regulation limits its ability to extend services to eligible citizens residing in countries or regions without nearby diplomatic representation.

It further argues that the regulation contravenes Article 38 of the Constitution, which guarantees every adult the right to register as a voter and cast their ballots without restrictions.

Article 82 also requires electoral law to provide for the progressive registration of citizens residing outside the country and the progressive realisation of their right to vote.

To implement the proposals, MPs must amend a raft of regulations, including the Elections (Voter Registration) (Amendment) Regulations, 2022; Elections (General) (Amendment) Regulations, 2022; and Elections (Voter Education) (Amendment) Regulations, 2022.

Others include the Elections (Party Primaries and Party Lists) (Amendment) Regulations, 2022, and the Elections (Technology) (Amendment) Regulations, 2022.

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smundu@ke.nationmedia.com