On 4th June 2026, with support from the Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi through the Reformed Elections for Enhanced Democracy and Inclusion (REDI) Programme and the Embassy of Denmark in Kenya through the Resilience, Peace and Stability (RPS) Programme, Act! convened a multi-stakeholder validation workshop. The workshop brought together the European Union Delegation in Kenya, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Civil Society Organisations, and other key election and security stakeholders to review findings from the Political Economy Analysis, Electoral Conflict Risk Mapping, and National Public Perception Survey. The sessions generated critical insights to inform Kenya’s electoral environment ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Key highlights:
📌There are significant trust deficits in formal electoral and political institutions, which contrast with higher confidence in community-proximate actors such as religious leaders and local administration.
📌Electoral risks are evolving across the electoral cycle, with emerging trends showing increased pre-election conflict, youth vulnerability, and the growing role of digital technology and misinformation.
📌Youth are politically aware but require stronger pathways for meaningful agency beyond civic education, alongside urgent action on misinformation, disinformation, and AI-driven risks.
📌Digital technologies and platform accountability have emerged as major electoral threats, encompassing technology-facilitated gender-based violence, deepfakes, and online mobilisation.
📌Conflict dynamics are evolving; new tensions are emerging in previously stable regions while traditional hotspots remain fluid.
📌Modernising peace committees and strengthening adaptive early warning systems now urgent priorities.
📌Women, youth, and marginalized groups remain disproportionately affected, facing barriers to participation, safety concerns, and exclusion from political processes.

What Next?
➡️Strategic interventions must be adaptive, conflict-sensitive, and inclusive, with sustained collaborative actions across the full electoral cycle.
➡️There is an urgent need to move beyond civic awareness towards strengthening meaningful youth civic agency, while simultaneously addressing misinformation, disinformation, and AI-related risks.
➡️Electoral integrity requires shared responsibility among the IEBC, political parties, security agencies, civil society, faith actors, and citizens, backed by greater transparency, accountability, and citizen empowerment.
These evidence-based insights will directly inform adaptive programming, policy engagement, and peacebuilding efforts in the lead-up to 2027.