IEBC Falls Short of Weekly Target of 1.5 Million New Voters as Only 202,518 Listed

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) failed to meet its target in week one of the ongoing Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration (ECVR).

This was revealed on Monday, October 11 by IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati.

In a statement to newsrooms, Chebukati said the commission managed to register 202,518 new voters in the last seven days against a 1.5 million target.

Counties that the recorded the lowest percentage of targets in week one include: Mombasa 4,486 against a target of 190,237, Nairobi 16,151 (732,568), Kirinyaga 2,376 (113,784), Embu 2,102 (100,887), Laikipia 1,664(80,231), Murang’a 3,259 (191,545), Kitui 2,324 (154,341), Nyandarua 1,495 (106,652), Nyeri 1,915 (148,995) and Kiambu 2,334 (385,367).

The IEBC boss attributed the low turnout recorded in most parts of the country to voter apathy, insecurity in parts of Lamu, Baringo and Laikipia Counties as well as along Kenya-Somalia borders and lack of National Identity Cards by a population that have reached the age of 18 years above.

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The culture of last-minute rush where Kenyans go for exercises when deadlines approach is another reason the electoral body said contributed to the low numbers.

Chebukati encouraged Kenyans to take advantage of the listing exercise so as to be able to participate in the General Election slated for August 9, 2022.

“In 2017, the Commission took note that Kenyans did not optimally utilize the early days to register. The consequence was a mad rush and long queues in the last days to the close of the registration drive. Let us reverse this trend by shedding off the tag of ‘last-minute Kenyan rush,” he said.

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“The Commission calls upon all Kenyan leaders across the board; both State and Non-State actors to go out of their way in assisting the Commission mobilize eligible citizens to register as voters.”

Counties that recorded the highest percentage of weekly targets are shown below:

At the same time, Chebukati noted that during the first week of ECVR a total of 5,206 requests for voter transfer were serviced.

The commission targets to register six million new voters by November 2 when the exercise is scheduled to close.

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