In response to growing pressure from parliamentarians, the administration is looking into methods to expand the number of polling places abroad before the 2027 elections.
To guarantee that more Kenyans can cast ballots while residing overseas, members of the Senate Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs, and Human Rights have urged the government to expand the number of polling places overseas.
In order to protect Kenyans’ democratic rights, the senators, led by Committee Chairperson Hillary Sigei, reaffirmed their dedication to pushing for more diaspora polling places.
In order to improve voting rights for Kenyans living overseas, the Senate and the Technical Working Group representing Kenyans in the diaspora met, and these talks were the main topic of conversation.
The plans include for the construction of new polling places in important international cities like Johannesburg, Canberra, Madrid, Mumbai, and New Delhi.
Kenya now runs 19 polling places in locations like Ottawa, London, and Washington, D.C.
The government was further challenged during the engagement to make sure that the financial and logistical issues that might impede the process of expanding the new voting locations were immediately resolved.
Kenyans in the diaspora, led by Martin Koyabe, the chairperson of their subcommittee for the United Kingdom, requested the government to expedite the establishment of fully furnished polling stations in key cities.
With the goal of expanding and modernizing voting rights for Kenyans around the world, the MPs pledged to examine the recommendations as soon as possible.
