IEBC decentralises inclusion committees to counties ahead of 2027 election

# What changed

Commission (IEBC) has announced that coordination of election inclusion committees will be decentralised to county offices. The move affects organisations that work with youth, women, persons with disabilities (PWDs) and other marginalised and ethnic minority groups.

# What IEBC is asking organisations to do

IEBC has invited all registered organisations that wish to participate in the coordination exercise to register with their respective IEBC county offices. The registration window closes on Friday, October 30, 2026, at 5:00 PM.

Required documents and information include:

• Registration certificate
• KRA PIN certificate
• Category or area of operation
• Contact details of a designated representative
• Physical address and county of operation

# Why the change was made

IEBC described the decentralisation as part of its commitment to improving inclusion and participation of marginalised groups and ethnic minorities throughout the electoral cycle. The commission indicated that county-level coordination will provide a more localised framework for engaging organisations and facilitating their participation in election-related activities.

Previously, coordination of these groups took place at a national level. Examples cited by IEBC include a 2022 Women Coordinating Committee on Elections and disability inclusion efforts at IEBC headquarters. The new structure will shift those responsibilities to county offices so representation and outreach can be handled more locally.

# How this fits into broader election preparations

The announcement comes roughly ten months before the general election scheduled for August 2027 and follows other IEBC activities described in recent communications. The commission has been running voter sensitisation and registration drives, and it set a target of at least 28 million registered voters for 2027. A Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) campaign aimed to add more than 6.3 million new voters to the existing register of 22.1 million.

IEBC commissioners who took office in July 2025 will oversee their first general election under this leadership team. Decentralising inclusion coordination is one of several operational steps the commission is taking as it prepares for the poll.

# Immediate practical effects for organisations and communities

For organisations: registration with county IEBC offices is required by the deadline. Those that want to partner with the commission in outreach or inclusion work must produce the listed documents and identify a county-based representative.

For communities: county-level coordination should make it easier for local organisations that represent youth, women, PWDs and ethnic minorities to interact with IEBC. It may improve visibility and participation of marginalised groups in voter outreach and election activities, depending on how county offices implement the new mandate.

# What remains to watch

• How quickly county offices operationalise the new inclusion coordination role.
• Whether county-level registration and coordination increases the number of marginalised-group organisations formally linked to IEBC activities.
• How IEBC integrates county-level inputs into national election planning and monitoring.

IEBC framed the change as an organisational adjustment intended to improve reach and representation ahead of the 2027 general election. Organisations that want to engage must register with IEBC county offices by October 30, 2026.