IEBC targets up to six million new voters from January 16

IEBC targets up to 6 million new voters

What you need to know:

  • The IEBC's goal is to register 22 million voters, up from 15,857,185 who had been listed as of June 30, 2016.

  • The registration comes amid a row between the ruling Jubilee and Coalition for Reforms (Cord) and democracy over the voting system that should be adopted for the August 8.

  • While the Raila Odinga-led Cord insists on electronic voter registration, voter identification and result transmission as well as an electronic back-up system, Jubilee thinks otherwise.

The electoral commission plans to list up to six million new voters in its second mass voter registration planned to kick off next Monday, January 16.

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba on Monday said the agency is targeting young Kenyans who recently acquired national IDs.

“Records with the registration bureau shows that nine million Kenyan adults have identification cards but are yet to register,” Mr Chiloba said during a consultative meeting with media practitioners in Nairobi.

The commission, he said, would use 7,793 Biometric Voter Registration kits for the exercise, up from 5,776 kits used in the previous voter listing.

FINAL REGISTER

The kits will be deployed countrywide at the ward level, with the main distribution criteria being geographical area.

Mr Chiloba said the commission wants to have a provisional register printed by March 15 and open it for verification by April 10.

The verification is expected to last 30 days, followed by amendments that will lead to a final register by June 17.

BACK-UP

The IEBC's goal is to register 22 million voters, up from the 15,857,185 who had been listed as of June 30, 2016.

The registration comes amid a row between the ruling Jubilee and the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) over the voting system that should be adopted for the August 8 polls.

While the Raila Odinga-led Cord insists on electronic voter registration, voter identification and result transmission as well as an electronic back-up system, Jubilee thinks otherwise.

DEAD VOTERS

The ruling alliance wants an "alternative back-up mechanism", which Cord interprets to mean a manual system that it claims will allow dead people to "vote" for Jubilee.

Cord accuses the ruling alliance of plotting to rig the elections through a manual system, claims President Kenyatta's camp has denied.

Both the National Assembly and the Senate have passed the 2016 Elections Act (Amendment) Bill, which allows the IEBC to have an “alternative mechanism” for identifying voters and transmitting election results should electronic systems fail.

The Bill is awaiting President Kenyatta's signature and opposition leaders have warned him against inking it.