The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has warned Kenyans against taking photos or recording videos inside polling booths.
In a public notice issued on Wednesday, May 13, the IEBC stated that the act violates election laws and could attract a fine of up to KSh 1 million, imprisonment for up to 3 years, or both.
According to the commission, taking photos and videos constitutes an election offence under Section 7(3)(e) of the Election Offences Act, No. 37 of 2016.
“Section 7(3)(e) of the Election Offences Act states that a person attending any proceedings relating to an election who, without lawful excuse, captures an image of any marked ballot for purposes of financial gain or for showing allegiance, commits an offence,” read the notice in part.
“The offence is punishable by: a fine not exceeding KSh 1 million, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years, or both.”
IEBC Issues Tough Warning Over Secrecy of Vote Inside Polling Booths
The commission emphasized that the secrecy and sanctity of the vote must be preserved at all times and cautioned voters against photographing marked ballot papers for any purpose.
“Do not take Photos or Record videos in the Polling Booth. The secrecy and sanctity of the vote must be preserved at all times. Photography and video recording are strictly prohibited in the polling booth,” it added.
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Beyond this specific warning, election laws outline a broader range of offences designed to safeguard the integrity of the voting process.
Other Offences Related to Voting
A person commits an offence if they forge, counterfeit, deface, or destroy any ballot paper, or the official stamp or mark on it. It is also an offence to supply, sell, or purchase any ballot paper without authority.
The law further prohibits any person from possessing a marked ballot paper without lawful authority or inserting into a ballot box anything other than an official ballot paper.
It is also illegal to remove election materials from a polling station without permission, or to destroy, open, dispose of, or interfere with any election material intended for use in an election.
The law criminalizes the unauthorized printing of ballot papers, as well as the manufacture, possession or use of any device that may alter or interfere with ballot papers once they have been placed in a ballot box.
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Other offences include making marks on ballot papers issued to other voters, voting when not entitled to do so, voting more than once, interfering with a voter during casting of his or her vote in secret, or pretending to be unable to read or write in order to receive assistance in voting.
It is also an offence for a person to falsely claim to have a disability in order to be assisted in voting.
Under the law, any person found guilty of these offences is liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding one million shillings, imprisonment for a term not exceeding six years, or both.
