Electoral Commission Opens Applications for Poll Workers

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has launched recruitment for temporary staff positions as it prepares to conduct by-elections scheduled for February 26, 2026.

In a public notice issued Wednesday, January 21, the electoral body announced vacancies for support electoral trainers, presiding officers, deputy presiding officers, and polling clerks.

Prospective applicants have until Monday, January 26, 2026, to submit their applications through the commission’s dedicated recruitment portal at jobs.iebc.or.ke.

Role Descriptions and Responsibilities

Support electoral trainers will play a critical role in preparing election officials for the upcoming by-elections. Their duties include facilitating instruction sessions for presiding officers, deputy presiding officers, and clerks on polling procedures, vote counting, and tallying processes.

Additional responsibilities for trainers encompass establishing training facilities, arranging necessary materials, and supervising other personnel engaged in preparing clerks and election officials at constituency and ward levels. They will also manage the collection, security, and distribution of training materials across multiple tiers of the electoral structure.

Presiding officers and their deputies will assume leadership of polling stations, with primary accountability for supervising all electoral activities at their assigned locations. Their mandate extends to allocating materials to polling clerks and delivering results to constituency returning officers following the conclusion of voting.

Polling clerks will support station operations by assisting with the establishment of polling and counting facilities, authenticating voter credentials before ballot casting, and aiding presiding officers during the vote sorting and tallying phase.

Compensation Structure

According to the commission’s announcement, support electoral trainers will earn Ksh2,000 daily. Presiding officers will receive the same daily rate of Ksh2,000, while deputy presiding officers will be compensated at Ksh1,800 per day.

Application Process

Interested candidates should navigate to the IEBC website at iebc.or.ke and locate the ‘Work With Us’ section. From the dropdown menu, applicants should select ‘Vacancies,’ then proceed to ‘Job Listings’ where they can choose from the available position categories.

Electoral Context

The recruitment drive follows the commission’s earlier announcement that it will administer four by-elections on February 26, 2026, to fill vacancies in various legislative positions.

The electoral exercises will determine representation for Isiolo South Constituency in the National Assembly, as well as select Members of County Assembly for Muminji and Evurore wards in Embu County, and West Kabras Ward in Kakamega County.

These contests were necessitated by various circumstances that created vacancies in the respective seats, requiring fresh electoral processes to ensure continued representation for the affected constituencies and wards.

The commission’s timeline provides a narrow five-day window for applications, reflecting the urgent need to assemble election personnel ahead of the February polling date.