ANC leader Mudavadi targets 80,000 in voter registration drive

What you need to know:

  • ANC will Sunday head to Kabiro primary school in Kawangware, Nairobi County, to launch a similar campaign.
  • Saturday, party leader Musalia Mudavadi begun touring Matunda, Pan Paper and Matete, all in Kakamega County.

The Amani National Congress (ANC) party has rolled out a campaign to register at least 800,000 new voters in western region.

To achieve this, the party has planned a series of rallies in the region to educate voters on the need to vote.

According to sources within the party who spoke to Sunday Nation, the thinking within the coalition is that should it consolidate the votes, such will hand it solid bargaining chances come 2017.

The campaigns, which comes in the wake of a similar drive by Cord coalition in the vote-rich region, will also focus on Nairobi County, in what the party said will help consolidate its support base beyond the western Kenya region.

Saturday, party leader Musalia Mudavadi begun touring Matunda, Pan Paper and Matete, all in Kakamega County.

Mr Mudavadi in a statement to journalists Saturday, accused the government of failing to give IDs to people in the region.

ANC national chairman Kelvin Lunani said the party was bracing for a tough contest with Cord and Jubilee in the tussle for votes from western ahead of 2017.

The official said they have planned tours in the four counties in western to prepare ground for aggressive campaigns by the party’s flag bearer.

“We are focused on popularising the party at the grass root level in all the four counties of Vihiga, Kakamega, Busia and Bungoma before spreading our campaigns to the rest of the country,” he said.

ANC will Sunday head to Kabiro primary school in Kawangware, Nairobi County, to launch a similar campaign.

In what appears a carefully choreographed plan, ANC officials have spent the past one week traversing the county to prepare ground for Mr Mudavadi’s campaign tour of Kakamega.

However, the task ahead of the Amani leader may prove daunting as he goes up against Cord in the hunt for votes.

University of Nairobi political scientist Adams Oloo told Sunday Nation that Mudavadi’s forays, may end up little.

“Mudavadi is only trying to be a spoiler and should Cord do its homework well, then he has no chance in the region,” said Dr Oloo.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission is set to start voter registration on February 15.