Expired passports could be used for 2027 vote in proposed changes.

📋 Breaking It Down

The Court of Appeal has been asked to suspend a High Court judgment upholding a rule requiring Kenyans living outside the East African Community (EAC) to use passports to register as voters ahead of the 2027 election.

A Kenyan living in the United Kingdom, Eliud Karanja Matindi, wants the Nairobi appellate court to suspend the judgment pending determination of his appeal, which is expected to resolve whether Kenyans outside the EAC can register as voters using national identity cards.

The judgment at the centre of the fresh legal dispute allowed Kenyans living in EAC countries to register using either a passport or national identity card, while those outside the bloc must produce a valid Kenyan passport.

📌 What You Need to Know

The case began in 2022 when Senator Okiya Omtatah challenged Regulation 37 of the Elections (Registration of Voters) Regulations, 2012. The rule says a Kenyan living outside the country must produce a valid Kenyan passport to register, while citizens in EAC countries may present an identity card.

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Justice Lawrence Mugambi dismissed Mr Omtatah’s petition on May 22, 2025, holding that the regulation was constitutional. The judge also found that the question had been considered in an earlier Kenya Diaspora Alliance case.

Mr Matindi, an interested party in the case, has asked the appellate court to stay the judgment pending his appeal. His submissions filed October 7, 2026 say the appeal was lodged in July 2025.

“In the absence of the stay sought in this application, Kenyan citizens residing outside Kenya (other than within  the East African Community) are unable to register as voters using their national identity cards just like any other Kenyan citizens,” he says.

He argues that the High Court wrongly upheld a distinction between Kenyans living within the EAC and those elsewhere, despite an earlier court order requiring the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to register eligible diaspora citizens using original national identity cards.

📰 Source: Nation Africa