You have probably seen social media hashtags and posts on voter registration, especially among the youth, challenging their peers to come out in large numbers and register.
This comes as IEBC rolls out a mass registration targeting more than 6 million new voters in the run up to the 2027 elections.
The youth are leveraging the power of social media to rally their peers to register. One such initiative is #TukoKadi, a youth-led online campaign aimed at mobilising young people to turn out in large numbers and register as voters.
Charity Waweru, alias ‘Gen Z Baddie’, a popular TikToker and political social media influencer, says #Tuko Kadi, which she started, is a viral hashtag currently trending, and acts as a mobilisation tool for unregistered voters.
“Once individuals register, they take screenshots of their voter registration details and post them under the hashtag #TukoKadi,” she says.
As a political influencer, Wambui says she is also at the forefront of promoting another youth-driven initiative, dubbed Register na Mbogi.
The campaign, started by fellow Gen Z peers, is mobilising unregistered youth across Nairobi to physically present themselves at IEBC voter registration centres.
Waweru says the exercise is gaining momentum such that, within a short period, more young people are registering in significant numbers. For example, one Tuesday earlier this month, by noon in Kasarani, more than 200 new young voters had already been registered.
Although the initiative is currently focused in Nairobi, Waweru says there are plans to roll it out to neighbouring counties in the spirit of encouraging more young people to register in large numbers.
She attributed the previously low voter registration turnout among youth to the lack of relatable young leaders who can resonate with and motivate them to participate in the process.
She, however, expressed reservations about the current pace of youth voter registration across the country, calling on her peers in other regions to take it upon themselves to register.
“All is not lost. We believe that once mass voter registration gains momentum, young people will show up, especially if the exercise is brought closer to them,” she said.
She also called on the IEBC to actively engage young people in championing the registration drive by allocating them opportunities in advertisement, particularly through social media platforms, where most youth are active.
GRASSROOTS CHAMPIONS
Kijana Nderi, a youth leader at the grassroots level and political aspirant, emphasised the need for young people to register to participate in determining the country’s leadership, cautioning that voter apathy leads to poor governance.
“The youth have come out strongly to challenge poor leadership and bad governance,” he said.
“They must realise that the only way to change the situation is by participating in the democratic process that gives us leaders through voting.”
He further challenged young people to move beyond complaining on social media and take meaningful action toward change.
“They must understand that protests, though effective, cannot by themselves change leadership. They need to register and vote rather than remain apathetic,” he said.
“Bad leaders are elected when people choose not to vote and expect change to happen on its own.”
Nderi called for more aggressive civic education programmes through the media and other communication channels, as well as public participation forums to help young people understand the importance of the democratic process.
Prosperity Alliance Party leader Patrick Muthoni described voting as a form of power. “Unregistered youth risk losing their voice in the country’s leadership and development,” he said.
Expressing concern over the current voter registration turnout, Muthoni said despite being vocal on social media, many young people are not registering in large numbers. He attributed this to disillusionment and low civic awareness.
In his capacity as a party leader and former Nyeri MCA, the youthful politician said he is mobilising young people to register as voters through grassroots campaigns, digital platforms and direct engagement with the youth.
‘DECENTRALISE PROCESS’
Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina said exercising the constitutional duty of voting is a fundamental democratic right in a formalised system.
The vocal lawmaker warned that failing to register and vote gives leaders who do not share their ideologies an opportunity to run the system.
“If the youth want a better Kenya, they must participate in voting to shape the country they wish to see by choosing leaders who represent their values,” she said.
“They must be determined to run the system by having in place leaders who embrace accountability, integrity and strong leadership values.”
To reach as many young people as possible, the county MP urged the electoral agency to make the process more accessible to those without the fare to travel to registration centres.
“Registering as a voter is not a priority for a young person who does not even have enough money to meet daily needs. Any funds they receive will naturally go toward food and other essentials,” Maina said.
“There is, therefore, a need for IEBC to decentralise the process, taking it closer to young people rather than confining it to a few locations.”
The youthful MP also praised young people for using social media to encourage their peers to register in large numbers now, urging the IEBC to support and pilot some of these youth-led initiatives.
She added that, as a young leader, her office is working closely with IEBC, civil society groups and local opinion leaders in the county to ensure that young people register and participate in the electoral process.
CIVIL SOCIETY, IEBC INPUT
Mule Musau from Elog, a civil society organisation, said voter registration has improved thanks to not only social media campaigns but also governance-related forums.
“I think the platforms are very effective because they reach the audience in their own spaces,” he said.
“This is encouraging, and I hope they will gain strong traction and visibility in the coming months so that we can begin to see a change in the numbers. However, I feel it is still in the early stages.”
He encouraged young people to register in large numbers, noting that they have the numerical strength to bring about the positive change they have been yearning for.
IEBC aims to register an additional six million voters, while in the last election, about eight million voters were young people, he said.
“If you combine the six million and the eight million, who are predominantly millennials, you get 14 million votes from young people, which is nearly half of the entire voter register,” Musau said.
“That is a significant number in terms of political decision-making.”
Musau called on the IEBC to engage youth-led digital groups that are being formed with the sole intention of intensifying voter mobilisation.
Additionally, he urged the commission to make digital voter registration more vibrant and accessible to attract young people.
“If I were the IEBC right now, I would first deploy a digital team to engage with these groups by sharing clear messaging and information on registration,” Musau said.
“Through such initiatives, it would be easier to reach young people and significantly increase their participation.”
IEBC commissioner and voter registration chair Alutalala Mukhwana said the commission is willing to include the youth in every step of the election process.
He said the commission will engage young people by reaching them in their spaces.
“They have moved away from the conventional spaces like TVs and most are now on the Internet space,” Mukhwana said.
“We will go to where they are because we want them to be a part of this national reconstruction process because Kenya cannot move forward without them.”
He said the commission intends to leverage the digital space in registration, whereby one can do a pre-registration and obtain a date when they can go for biometrics.
He said the commission will maintain an open-door policy in the agency’s operations and intensify civic education in the run-up to next year’s elections.
