Kenyans vote at Rongai Constituency, Nakuru County during the August 9, 2022, General Election. Photo  IEBC 

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has distanced itself from a viral social media post alleging that over two million ghost voters will be removed from the voter register before the 2027 General Election.

The Commission flagged the post as fake and clarified that it currently has no chairperson or commissioners in office, and any statements attributed to its members were misleading. 

The fake post had alleged that the incoming Commission Chairperson, Erustus Ethekon, had been appointed and was leading a cleanup of the voter register.

It further purported that Kiambu County was leading with the highest number of ghost voters, followed by Meru, Nairobi, and Nyeri Counties.

 

Kenyans.co.ke

''We will remove over 2 million ghost voters from the register before the 2027 elections. Kiambu County has the largest concentration of ghost voters, followed by Meru, Nairobi, and Nyeri,'' the fake poster alleged.

In a quick response, IEBC advised Kenyans to disregard the post, warning Kenyans against falling for such misinformation.  

“Please note that the Commission currently neither has a Chairperson nor Members of the Commission. Therefore, any information circulating on social media is null and void,” the statement read.

According to the commission, no official communication regarding voter register audits or appointments has been made and urged the public to rely on verified channels for electoral updates.

“We urge Kenyans to treat such posts with the contempt they deserve and to verify information through our official platforms,” the statement continued.

According to a gazette notice dated June 10, President William Ruto officially appointed Ethakon as the new IEBC Chairperson. Ruto also appointed Ann Njeri Nderitu, Moses Alutalala Mukhwana, and Mary Karen Sorobit as the commissioners. 

Others appointed are Hassan Noor Hassan, Francis Odhiambo Aduol, and Fahima Araphat Abdallah.

Despite the appointments, the chairperson and commissioners are yet to assume their positions following the High Court's conservatory orders that had temporarily barred the gazettement and swearing-in of the nominees pending the outcome of a constitutional petition.

The petition raised concerns about the transparency and legality of the selection process.  By Christine Opanda, Kenyans.co.ke