Africa-Press – Kenya. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) now says it will be forced to regulate use of mobile phones inside a polling station by voters.
The electoral agency warned of a trend of voters taking pictures of marked ballots and sharing them online in total violation of electoral rules.
According to IEBC, the acts, which threaten the integrity of the elections were witnessed during the last by-election late last year.
“With the widespread use of smartphones, the commission has observed a growing trend of voters using mobile phones inside polling stations. This conduct was observed during the by-elections held on 27th November 2025, where some voters photographed their marked ballot papers and shared those images on social media,” chairman Erustus Ethekon said.
He said the secrecy of the ballot is a constitutional right guaranteed under Article 38(3)(b) and 81 (e) (i) of the constitution and is a fundamental principle of democratic elections.
Any act that compromises this secrecy, Ethekon warned, including photographing or recording a marked ballot paper, undermines the integrity of the electoral process, exposes voters to undue influence, coercion and vote-buying and constitutes an electoral offence.
“To prevent such occurrences, the commission will apply administrative control measures at polling stations. These measures are intended solely to protect voters and uphold the integrity of the electoral process,” he said.
Ethekon spoke ahead of the Thursday by-election.
The vacant seats include Isiolo South constituency in Isiolo county, West Kabras ward seat, (Kakamega county), Mumini ward seat and Evurore ward seat in Embu county.
Ethekon said key milestones that include completion of procurement of election materials, gazettement of nominated candidates, polling stations and tallying centres, servicing, testing, configuration and readiness of the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (Kiems) kits for deployment have been achieved.
Others include packaging and dispatch of all strategic and non-strategic election materials including ballot papers to the respective electoral areas; and training of election officials.
“The commission further reminds the public that voters who require assistance due to disability, illiteracy or other lawful reasons are entitled to be assisted by a person of their own choice. However, only one assistant is permitted, and no person shall assist more than one voter,” Ethekon said.
During previous by-elections, the commission noted concerns regarding the presence of unauthorised persons, intimidation and references to so-called “super agents” within polling and tallying centres.
“Each participating political party or candidate is entitled to one agent per polling station, and only one chief agent per candidate is allowed at a tallying centre.
There is no provision in law for “super agents” or any unauthorised persons to operate within polling or tallying centres.”
The IEBC boss said politicians, political party officials, state officers and public officers who are registered voters are entitled to vote only at their designated polling stations and that they are not permitted to move from one polling station to another.
“No person shall be admitted into a polling station if that person is wearing a badge, clothing, symbol, or any other item signifying support for a political party or candidate,” Ethekon said.
