ODM leader Raila Odinga has called for sweeping electoral reforms, including the elimination of the voter’s card.
In an interview with NTV on Sunday, Odinga argued that doing away with the voter’s card would not only cut costs but also simplify the voting process.
The former Prime Minister insisted that a national ID should be the only requirement to cast a vote, describing the voter’s card as an unnecessary and costly burden on both citizens and the electoral system.
Raila also proposed an entirely digitized voter registration process. Even as he conceded that the process itself is inexpensive, he claimed it has been utilized as a cash cow by politicians in procurement, exposing public funds to personal benefit.
He claimed that innovations, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), would make digitizing the voter registration process even more efficient and affordable for Kenya.
He questioned the logic of having both an ID and a voter’s card, saying it only adds unnecessary bureaucracy.
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Raila also suggested staggered elections instead of all the contests on one day.
He argued that having different election days for different elective offices would minimize the voters’ burden and cut costs overall.
On the new electoral commission, Odinga noted that its primary agenda should be to win the trust of the people of Kenya by demonstrating to them how impartial and professional it is.
“This electoral commission has a responsibility, first to create confidence for the voters that they can do a professional job that is unbiased and uninfluenced by the players,” he said.
“I Was Against Broad-Based Government,” says Raila
During the same interview, Odinga addressed speculation around his party’s position on joining a broad-based government. He was quick to clarify that he personally opposed the idea, as did most leaders within the Azimio coalition. However, he revealed that a faction within his own ODM party supported the move.
According to Odinga, those ODM leaders believed participating in a broad-based administration could help unlock the political deadlock facing the country. They saw it as an opportunity to inject new ideas and bring in experts capable of stabilizing the government.
He added that they also emphasized the importance of bringing in qualified experts to serve in the Cabinet.
Odinga added that Azimio’s initial reluctance to join the government stemmed from the lack of a genuine national conversation – a process the National Dialogue Committee (Nadco) was intended to initiate.
https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?gdpr=0&client=ca-pub-6313163271830327&output=html&h=280&adk=2886405919&adf=710541406&pi=t.aa~a.3053581028~i.36~rp.4&w=660&abgtt=1&fwrn=4&fwrnh=100&lmt=1753156105&num_ads=1&rafmt=1&armr=3&sem=mc&pwprc=5642937580&ad_type=text_image&format=660×280&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnairobiwire.com%2F2025%2F07%2Fscrap-voters-card-raila-odinga-proposes-ai-powered-voter-registration.html&fwr=0&pra=3&rh=165&rw=660&rpe=1&resp_fmts=3&wgl=1&fa=27&dt=1753187151566&bpp=7&bdt=104549&idt=7&shv=r20250717&mjsv=m202507170101&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3D4892f70a1105497d%3AT%3D1748246429%3ART%3D1753187103%3AS%3DALNI_MY9Q5S8wLaTI6plYKTnHVswydxHkw&gpic=UID%3D000010c705f889f4%3AT%3D1748246429%3ART%3D1753187103%3AS%3DALNI_MZlZLQ5Axfn85a1pHp-djbmbNi9Ow&eo_id_str=ID%3De695567130f1d033%3AT%3D1748246429%3ART%3D1753187103%3AS%3DAA-AfjabD-69FSOs58KQ_AniDVly&prev_fmts=0x0%2C265x600%2C660x280%2C660x280%2C660x280%2C660x280&nras=6&correlator=6328849976272&frm=20&pv=1&u_tz=180&u_his=1&u_h=768&u_w=1280&u_ah=728&u_aw=1280&u_cd=24&u_sd=1&adx=153&ady=3792&biw=1263&bih=643&scr_x=0&scr_y=1249&eid=31093040%2C31093577%2C95362655%2C95365881%2C95366024%2C95366914%2C95366848%2C95359265%2C95366369&oid=2&pvsid=2785230868555858&tmod=271811137&nvt=1&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fnairobiwire.com%2F&fc=1408&brdim=-8%2C-8%2C-8%2C-8%2C1280%2C0%2C1296%2C744%2C1280%2C643&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7Cs%7C&abl=NS&fu=128&bc=31&bz=1.01&pgls=CAA.~CAEaBTYuOC4y&ifi=8&uci=a!8&btvi=6&fsb=1&dtd=M “Ruto said he was going to form a government in consultation with all stakeholders to create a consensus and we said we don’t want to stay in government until we have had a conversation as a people, which did not happen” Raila explained. “He then said he would appoint half of the cabinet so there is no stalemate, which he did.”
Odinga said Azimio leaders held internal consultations to explore whether they could engage in a broad-based government. Eventually, some ODM members pushed for re-engagement, arguing that Kenya’s situation required a pragmatic approach.
“I myself was against it, and my other colleagues also,” he said. “But eventually, the group within my party felt that the stalemate we had required that some experts who are not part of the Kenya Kwanza regime can go into government and see how they can help steady the ship and come up with new ideas to deal with issues in contention.”
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