Blow to Diaspora Voters as High Court Upholds Embassy-Based Voting System

The high court upholds rules that limit overseas voting to countries that have Kenyan diplomatic missions, rejecting a request by diaspora voters to be included in Kenya’s voting process.

In a ruling that could possibly make a difference in the 2027 general elections, the court declined the request by Kenyans living abroad who argued that the restrictions are unfair to them.

Kenyans abroad complain that they send home remittances and support the local economy, but they are shut out from the country’s voting.

The petition was targeting the registration of voters regulations, which allow registration of voters abroad only in countries where Kenya has an embassy or high commission.

Petition

According to the petition, the rule keeps a lot of Kenyans from voting in more than 100 countries, while many are forced to travel back to Kenya only to vote.

However, the court dismissed the case and the constitution embraces the bit-by-bit expansion of diaspora voting and there is a legal framework towards that.

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The court said the constitution caters to the progressive registration of voters abroad and their realization of their constitutional rights to vote.

The petition had asked for a declaration that the regulation is unconstitutional and also an order to make the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) establish new polling centres beyond diplomatic missions.

Kenyans Abroad

They argue that the current system conditions voting rights on the location of diplomatic offices rather than voter eligibility and electoral integrity.

According to the court filings, Kenyans in large countries such as Canada, Australia and the United States are required to travel thousands of kilometres to reach their voting centres.

Kenyans abroad told the court that the restriction created indirect discrimination by favouring those people who live near diplomatic missions, while it is disadvantaging others who reside far away from their diplomatic missions.

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IEBC told the court that voter registration in diaspora has increased gradually from 4,223 in 2017 to 10,444 in 2022.

The court further said that removing the regulation could undermine the framework that has made diaspora voting grow.

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IEBC chairperson Erastus Edung and fellow commissioners
PHOTO/Nation