IEBC to kick off mass voter registration on Monday

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will tomorrow (Monday) kick off a mass voter registration exercise, in the road map to the 2017 General Election.

The registration exercise will commence across the country at designated registration centres in every County Assembly Ward and will run up to March 15, 2016.

IEBC Chairperson Ahmed Issack Hassan will lead the commission in kicking off the registration drive in Nairobi at Pumwani Community Social Hall in Kamukunji Constituency.

Thereafter, the commission will mount voter registration roadshows across Nairobi with the caravan making stopovers at various estates including Kariokor, Mathare, Roysambu, Zimmerman, Kasarani, Umoja, Kayole and Pipeline.

The 30-day Mass Voter Registration (MVR) exercise will involve: Registration of new eligible voters; transfer of voters who are already registered but wish to change their polling stations and verification of the register for already registered voters.

The commission has deployed 5,756 Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits and a corresponding number of Voter Registration Assistants (VRAs) to conduct the exercise at County Assembly Wards (CAWs) across the country.

The exercise presents an opportunity for more eligible Kenyans to be included in the voters’ roll, and is intended to increase the number of registered voters by intensifying the continuous voter registration process.

At the end of the exercise, the commission aims to establish a comprehensive, accurate and complete principal register of voters, which contributes to enhancing the legitimacy of the electoral process.

The electoral body has doubled the number of clerks to handle the voter registration exercise after foreign donors stepped in to fill a financial gap.

IEBC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ezra Chiloba said the agency had received Ksh153 million from the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK), enabling the doubling of clerks who will register voters using biometric kits.

The European Union (EU) has also committed Ksh560 million to the agency in the period leading to the General Election, next year.

IEBC had requested for Ksh2 billion to fund the exercise, only to be allocated Ksh500 million.

However on Thursday, the commission got a boost from the European Union with a grant of Ksh567 million.

The agency aims to register 8 million new voters before the polls on August 8th 2017.