State officers lead voter mobilisation in Mandera

Senior State officers from north eastern Kenya have launched a voter registration mobilisation drive to convince locals to enlist and vote in the August elections.

The team, led by Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed, kicked off the drive on Thursday in Mandera County, urging the pastoralists to enlist in large numbers and vote for the Jubilee Party.

“We are locals from north eastern region working in different departments within the government and we have a responsibility to ensure our own people register as voters,” said Mr Mohamed.

Mr Mohamed said that it is only through numbers that the region will bargain for its share in government.

“We need to register in (large) numbers so that we get what we want from the government of the day,” he said.

He said newly registered voters in ongoing mass listing do not reflect the real image of the north eastern region.

“We have many eligible voters in grazing fields [who] have to register so that we can be considered in government positions after elections,” he said.

He said the region will enjoy national resources if they register as voters.

RE-ELECT JUBILEE

The minister rallied for the re-election of the Jubilee administration stating that the President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government has recognised the region.

“Adan Duale is leading [in Parliament], Ibrahim Mohamed is [in the] Judiciary and many of us are in different government positions,” he said.

Speaking at the same function, North Eastern Regional Coordinator Mohamud Saleh appealed for peaceful elections.

Mandera Governor Ali Roba said the region has not been able to bargain politically due to low number of votes but added that his administration is determined to turn the tide.

HAVE A POLITICAL VOICE

“The rest of the country has been laughing at our figures and ignoring us for a long time but time has come for us to prove that we have a political voice by registering in large numbers,” he said.

He said the low voter turnout is due to the pastoral nature of the community involving constant migration of herders in search of water and pasture.

Other professionals in the team are Mr Mohamed Abdikadir (President’s constitutional advisor), Ms Rukia Subow (former Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organisation national chairlady and currently Kenya’s ambassador to Iran), principal secretaries Alinur Ismael (Industrialisation) and Fatuma Hirsi (Tourism) and Ms Khadija Mohammed (Director, Bomas of Kenya).