Mass voter registration exercise will not be extended: Chebukati

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati has said that the ongoing Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration (ECVR) exercise will not be extended.

Speaking at the IEBC offices in Maralal town Thursday, Chebukati said that the ECVR will end on 6th February, but the continuous voter registration exercise in the constituency offices will still continue until a gazette notice is issued to stop the registration process later this month.

“IEBC is following the elections operation plan and there are timelines in voter registration to allow time to audit and verification of the register and that is why we cannot extend the registration exercise,” he said.

Earlier, Samburu political leaders had urged IEBC to extend the mass voter registration exercise by three weeks so that they can reach herders who have migrated out of Samburu County in search of water and pasture.

“Due to the ongoing drought our people have migrated to Mount Kenya and the aberdare in search of pasture and it will be unfortunate that they will not get a chance to elect the leaders they want. That is why we are requesting for an extension in Arid and Semi-arid counties.” Former agriculture PS and Samburu gubernatorial hopeful Richard Lesiambe said.

While acknowledging the challenges of voter registration in Samburu County, Chebukati directed the returning officers to follow up on residents who were evicted from kirisia forest to help them transfer their votes to the nearest polling stations while registering new ones.

“Our target in Samburu was to register 22,000 new voters but as of yesterday we had managed to register only 4,000 voters, the turnout is very low even nationally and I urge youths to come out in large numbers in the next three days and register as voters,” he said.

At the same time the IEBC boss appealed to political leaders to preach peace as they transverse the country popularizing their parties.

Meanwhile, Narok county has managed to register only 14, 000 new voters out of a target of 68, 000 voters, three days to the end of this second phase of the exercise.

The county elections manager Anastacia Mutua asked the residents to volunteer in large numbers in the remaining days before the mass registration exercise is closed.

“When the ongoing ECVR exercise closes on February 6, 2022, the other option will be to visit the constituency headquarters to register,” said Ms. Mutua observing that this could be costlier to the new voters.

In the first phase, the county managed to register 35, 000 people out of a target of 78, 000 people.

The number of registered voters in the county as per the 2017 IEBC register is 341, 000.

And in Machakos, the Blind and Low vision network organization (BLINK) has been going around the county to mobilize People with Disability (PWD) to obtain their IDs and register as voters for the upcoming elections in August.

 The organization’s director of Lower Easter Region Kennedy Siocha most people who are disabled do not have IDs and have not registered as voters

He said they have tried to mobilize them but leaders and authorities should also get involved and help the PWD to get their IDs on time so that they can register for the elections.

On his part Machakos town Chief Mr. Joshua Kimeu said he was devastated by the high number of ID cards that have been left behind unclaimed. He said it is slowing down the IEBC efforts and target of registering a big number.

“Machakos residents should come pick their IDs that have been left unclaimed for long. You need the IDs so that you can register for the general elections in August,” added Chief Kimeu.

BLINK is an organization with a mandate to provide services to persons with disabilities (PWD).