The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has issued a clarification over the scanning of the iris in the ongoing voter registration.
This follows public concerns raised by a section of Kenyans.
According Joyce Ekuam, the Commission’s director of Voter Education, Partnerships and Communication, use of iris data in the registration process is optional and not a compulsory requirement.
“In as in as much as we have included the iris, it is not compulsory. If you are not comfortable with it, you can bypass it and still get registered using our KIEMS kits,” she said.
The mass voter registration exercise kicked off Monday and it targets at least 6.3 million new voters.
The commission rolled out the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) drive with enhanced features, which it said will improve efficiency, curb duplication, and prevent errors in voter details.
Among the new measures, personal identifying information will be scanned directly from ID cards, while fingerprints and passport photographs will continue to be captured.
The additional option of iris data is meant to strengthen verification processes.
According to Ekuam, the ongoing phase of the enhanced CVR aims to capture at least 10 per cent of the 6.3 million eligible voters.
This, she added, will be followed by a major push, the first Enhanced CVR targeting 40 per cent of registrations.
It will commence after the conclusion of the by-elections scheduled for November 27, 2025.
“We are doing enhanced CVR phase one, going down to lower levels where we are targeting to register 40 per cent,” she said.
In early 2026, up to early 2027, Ekuam said they will enter the second phase, where they will target another 50 per cent.
“It is a whole spectrum until the commission stops registration and moves to other electoral activities,” she explained.