The country has now entered into an election mode as the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) this morning rolls out a massive national voter registration exercise amidst misgivings by the Opposition.
Even as commission chairman Isaac Hassan kicks off the voter listing drive at the Pumwani Community Social Hall in Nairobi, the Opposition has raised concerns over alleged unfair distribution of the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits in their strongholds.
The exercise, which is planned to roll out simultaneously at designated registration centres in every County Assembly ward, seeks to enlist eight million new voters before the General Election slated for August 8, next year.
The launch of the exercise is expected to be followed by voter registration road shows across Nairobi with the caravan making stopovers at various estates including Kariokor, Mathare, Roysambu, Zimmerman, Kasarani, Umoja, Kayole and Pipeline to stir Kenyans to enlist as voters.
In a media commentary issued yesterday, commissioner Mohammed Alawi, while calling on Kenyans to register as voters, said the commission is using the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) technology, which captures the features (facial and fingerprints) of the voter and eliminates any chance of cheating or double registration.
He said the BVR kit did not fail during the 2013 elections contrary to claims being made. “Contrary to what some people believe, BVR did not fail in the last General Election.
These were the same machines used to register the 14.3m voters. Had they failed there would have been no election,” he said.
The move comes even as Hassan has been summoned to appear before the National Assembly to shed light on the registration exercise and clarify whether the commission is adequately prepared and has sufficient funds to carry out the exercise.
This was after Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi rose on a Point of Order in the House last week and raised concerns that the commission plans to roll out registration without adequate funding.
IEBC had requested for Sh2 billion to fund the exercise, only to be allocated Sh500 million, but on Thursday, the Commission got a boost from the European Union with a grant of Sh567 million.
The poll body plans to start registration at the constituency level until May, next year, when the register will be closed for the General Election. Commission’s Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba said the commission had received Sh153 million from the United States and the United Kingdom, enabling the doubling of clerks who will register voters using biometric kits.
The registration comes despite concerns by Cord and the Council of Governors who argue that the 5,700 voter registration centres are inadequate for the countrywide exercise. Cord had taken issue with the distribution of the BVR kits. But IEBC, in a statement, refuted the claims saying the information relayed by Cord leaders was misleading.
“It is public knowledge that the commission is carrying out this exercise with numerous constraints. Indeed, it was only last week that, with the support of donors through the basket fund, the commission was able to double the number of kits being deployed for the registration drive,” read part of the statement.
The IEBC also announced there would be an average four BVR kits per ward, adding that the distribution was largely based on geographical size of wards, with larger ones allocated a higher number of kits.
In order to have a smooth exercise, the commission said it has hired and trained 5,756 Voter Registration Assistants (VRAs) and deployed a corresponding number of BVR kits to conduct voter registration at the County Assembly Ward level.
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