Article 83. Registration as a vote
Official Constitutional Text
83. (1) A person qualifies for registration as a voter at elections or referenda if the person—
(a) is an adult citizen;
(b) is not declared to be of unsound mind; and
(c) has not been convicted of an election offence during the preceding five years.
(2) A citizen who qualifies for registration as a voter shall be registered at only one registration centre.
(3) Administrative arrangements for the registration of voters and the conduct of elections shall be designed to facilitate, and shall not deny, an eligible citizen the right to vote or stand for election.
Plain English Explanation
This is a simplified summary to explain this article in clear language. It is not the legal text of the Constitution.
Article 83 of the Kenyan Constitution sets out the legal qualifications for voter registration and protects the right to vote. It states that to register as a voter for elections or referenda, an individual must be an adult citizen, must not be legally declared to be of unsound mind, and must not have been convicted of any election-related offence within the last five years. To prevent fraud, the article restricts every qualified citizen to registering at exactly one registration centre. Finally, it mandates that all administrative systems created for voter registration and election management must be designed to actively help citizens exercise their rights, explicitly forbidding any bureaucratic barriers that would deny an eligible Kenyan the right to vote or run for public office.