Lessons From 2022: Ten Things Kenya's Election Got Right

It is easy to focus on what went wrong in Kenya's 2022 election — the disputed declaration, the commissioner revolt, the Supreme Court petition. But to build a better 2027, we must also study what went right. Kenya's sixth multiparty general election delivered several genuine achievements that deserve recognition and, more importantly, replication.

1. Biometric Voter Identification Actually Worked

The KIEMS kits successfully identified 99.4% of voters who presented themselves at polling stations. Fingerprint and facial recognition worked in tandem, and where one failed, the other provided backup. Compare this to 2013, when biometric systems failed entirely in many stations and manual registers had to be deployed nationwide. In 2022, the technology did what it was supposed to do: confirm that the person casting a vote was the person registered to cast it.

2. Polling Day Was Remarkably Peaceful

With 46,229 polling stations open across the country, election day itself was one of the most peaceful in Kenya's multiparty history. The National Police Service deployed 150,000 officers, and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission reported fewer hate speech incidents in the final campaign week than in any previous election cycle. Kenyans queued, voted, and went home. That simplicity is itself an achievement.

3. Results Were Transmitted Electronically in Near-Real-Time

IEBC transmitted 97.2% of Form 34A images electronically, a significant improvement from the approximately 85% achieved in 2017. Citizens could track uploads on the IEBC portal as they happened. For the first time, ordinary Kenyans with internet access could see the actual photographed forms from their own polling stations within hours of counting.

4. Independent Tallying Centres Provided Verification

Multiple political parties and civil society organisations operated independent parallel tallying centres. These operations — including systems like Votrack — provided real-time cross-checks against IEBC's official figures. When tallying centre numbers aligned with official results, it built public confidence. Where discrepancies emerged, they could be flagged immediately rather than discovered weeks later.

5. The Supreme Court Processed the Petition Rapidly

Raila Odinga filed his petition on August 22, 2022, and the Supreme Court delivered its unanimous verdict on September 5 — just 14 days later, well within the constitutional 14-day deadline. The court heard arguments, reviewed evidence, and delivered a 78-page judgment. Whatever one thinks of the outcome, the speed and thoroughness of the judicial process was a democratic achievement.

6. Voter Registration Reached 22.1 Million

IEBC registered 22,120,458 voters — the largest register in Kenyan history at that point. While turnout was disappointing at 64.77%, the registration infrastructure itself was more accessible than ever, with enhanced mass voter registration drives reaching remote and underserved communities in the north and coast regions.

7. Women Made Historic Gains

The 2022 election saw 7 women elected as governors — the highest number ever. Women also won 29 single-member constituency seats, up from 23 in 2017. While Kenya still falls short of the constitutional two-thirds gender requirement, 2022 represented tangible progress in women's political representation at the executive level.

8. The Media Exercised Responsible Restraint

Unlike 2007, when media coverage was widely criticised for inflaming ethnic tensions, Kenya's major broadcasters — Citizen TV, NTV, KTN — maintained professional standards throughout the count. The Media Council of Kenya's post-election report noted a 72% reduction in inflammatory coverage compared to 2013, and no major outlet called the race before the official declaration.

9. International Observers Gave Broadly Positive Assessments

The 120,731 accredited election observers — both domestic and international — delivered largely positive preliminary assessments. The EU Election Observation Mission noted that the election was "competitive, transparent, and well-managed." The African Union and East African Community missions concurred that the process met continental standards, while noting areas for improvement.

10. The Transfer of Power Was Peaceful

Perhaps the most important achievement of all: on September 13, 2022, William Ruto was sworn in as Kenya's fifth president at Kasarani Stadium. Uhuru Kenyatta attended the ceremony. There was no violence, no military intervention, no constitutional crisis. For a country scarred by the 2007-2008 post-election violence that killed over 1,100 people, this peaceful handover was not to be taken for granted.

What This Means for 2027

These ten achievements did not happen by accident. They were the product of institutional investment, civil society vigilance, and technological advancement over multiple election cycles. As Kenya prepares for 2027, the task is to build on these foundations while addressing the remaining weaknesses — turnout, aggregation transparency, and the gap between electronic and physical tallying.

Platforms like Votrack are part of this evolution. By providing parties and candidates with independent, real-time parallel tallying capabilities, Votrack ensures that the verification layer that worked in 2022 becomes even stronger in 2027. Because the lessons of a good election are just as important as the lessons of a bad one.

Get started with Votrack and carry 2022's best practices into the next election.