The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has released details of the ballot papers and ballot boxes that will be used for the six elective positions in the 2027 General Election.

According to IEBC, the color of each ballot paper will match the colour of its respective ballot box lid.

“These are the Ballot Box Lid Colours for the Six (6) Elective Positions. The colour of the Ballot Paper matches the respective Ballot Box Lid,” IEBC said.

The ballot paper and ballot box lid for the Presidential election will be white, while those for the Member of the National Assembly will be green.

The ballot paper and ballot box lid for the Member of the County Assembly will be beige, while the Senator’s will be yellow.

On the other hand, the ballot paper and ballot box lid for the Woman Member of the National Assembly will be purple, while the Governor’s will be blue.

IEBC has also urged eligible Kenyans to register as voters at any IEBC constituency office, Huduma Centre or the IEBC Customer Experience Centre at Anniversary Towers in Nairobi.

Cost of the 2027 Election

The commission had allocated KSh5.9 billion for printing ballot papers, KSh3 billion for transport and KSh4.9 billion for election materials and logistics.

IEBC also budgeted KSh1 billion for results transmission, KSh3.9 billion for upgrading election systems and KSh6.2 billion to replace KIEMS kits.

The commission plans to replace 45,352 KIEMS kits out of the 59,352 required for the election.

Parliament approved KSh41.3 billion for the exercise. However, IEBC has maintained that the allocation will not be enough to meet all its requirements.

The commission has also received KSh1.7 billion from the United Nations Development Programme to support Kenya’s preparedness for the 2027 General Election.



What You Need to Know Ahead of 2027

As Kenya prepares for the 2027 General Election, IEBC is undertaking a range of activities to ensure voters, political parties and election officials are ready for the August 10, 2027, poll.

The commission is expected to register eligible voters, manage party nomination processes and work with security agencies and mobile network operators as part of its election preparations.

IEBC will also deploy the Kenya Integrated Elections Management System (KIEMS) kits, which will be used to identify voters biometrically through fingerprints, scan identification documents and electronically transmit results from polling stations.

For the 2027 election, the commission has 24,559 voter registration centres spread across the 290 constituencies.

Results will be recorded and transmitted using different forms depending on the elective position.

Forms 34 will be used for presidential results, Forms 35 for Members of the National Assembly, Forms 36 for Members of County Assembly, Forms 37 for Governors, Forms 38 for Senators and Forms 39 for Woman Representatives.



Key Election Timelines

Public officers seeking to contest in the 2027 General Election must resign from public office by February 9, 2027, which falls six months before Election Day.

Political parties will be required to submit their membership lists to IEBC by March 16, 2027. They must also provide details of candidates intending to participate in their primaries, including the dates and venues of the exercises.

Independent candidates will have until May 9, 2027, to submit their names and symbols to IEBC. They must also meet the requirement of not being members of registered political parties.

Political parties must have completed their primaries and resolved disputes arising from the exercises by May 9, 2027.

The nomination period will run from May 29 to June 11, 2027, with disputes arising from the process required to be lodged by June 12 and resolved within 10 days.

Political parties and independent candidates will have until July 27, 2027, to submit the names of their national, county, constituency and polling station agents.

The official campaign period will run from May 29 to August 7, 2027, three days before Kenyans go to the polls.

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How Ballot Papers and Ballot Box Lids Will Be Colour-Coded in the 2027 General Election
IEBC ballot box. PHOTO/IEBC