The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Sunday, July 6, ignited online debate after announcing it has begun the migration of its systems to a new digital infrastructure, barely two years before the general elections.

The news came out as the electoral body sought to clarify reports of shutting down the voter verification portal. In the unsigned IEBC statement, the authority said the downtime as a 'system maintenance.'

"The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) wishes to inform the public that it is currently undertaking a scheduled system maintenance on its voter verification portal," a statement from the IEBC read.

The statement went on, "This essential maintenance is part of an ongoing migration to new infrastructure aimed at enhancing service delivery through system performance and security."

Search results from the IEBC portal on Sunday, July 6 2025.

Photo

verify.iebc.or.ke

The clarification followed a string of concerns from Kenyans on social media after they noted that they could not access their voter credentials on the portal.

A spot check by Kenyans.co.ke on X, formerly Twitter, uncovered a string of complaints from the public, who read malice in the fact that the IEBC portal was experiencing a downtime on a weekend.

Some users reported receiving an error message of "search not found" whenever they tried to search for their credentials, sparking widespread concern.

Questions were also raised about why the IEBC secretariat chose to carry out a system upgrade at a time when the commission is transitioning to new commissioners and a chairperson, appointments that were made under contentious circumstances.

But in their clarification, IEBC insisted the upgrade was essential to ensure the delivery of more efficient services while also ensuring the reliability of voter information ahead of the 2027 polls.

The agency also averted concerns by reiterating that the credentials of all 22,120,458 voters in the portal remained intact.

"We highly regret any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding as we work towards serving you better," the IEBC went on, adding that follow-up communications would follow in the coming days.

Kenyans have also been urged to keep an eye out for official communication through the IEBC's official pages to avoid falling for inaccurate reports.

President William Ruto during his maiden speech at the Bomas of Kenya after the former IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati announced him as President-elect on August 15, 2022.

Photo

William Ruto