Only 1.5 million Kenyans Registered as Voters on the Second Week; Will IEBC Hit the 6 million Target?

By Soko Directory Team / Published February 1, 2017 | 7:21 am

After 14 days of registering voters, preliminary data has shown that a total of 1,539,879 Kenyans representing 53.94 percent of the Week II cumulative target have applied to be registered as voters.

This represents 25 percent of the upper target by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) of having registered a total of 6 million voters by the end of the process which is set to be on February 14^th.

The total number of already registered voters also represents 38.50 percent of the lower limit target of 4 million voters and this means that the commission still has a lot at hand for them to ensure that they meet their set target in the remaining two weeks.

Here is a table showing the Top 10 Performing Counties against Target:

COUNTY NAME	MVR II TARGET	WEEK TWO CUMMULATIVE	% ATTAINED
KAJIADO	33,282	30,766	92%
MANDERA	37,440	16,115	43%
KIRINYAGA	65,772	28,306	43%
KIAMBU	250,493	106,223	42%
MURANG’A	118,330	47,497	40%
NAROK	62,632	24,445	39%
NAKURU	210,002	77,970	37%
WAJIR	33,477	10,898	33%
TANA RIVER	28,027	8,858	32%
GARISSA	40,961	12,658	31%

Here is a list of the Top 10 Counties Accounting for Most Registration:

However, some of te counties with the highest potential voting population of 100,000 and above have been reported to have below 20 percent of their total targets. These counties include Vihiga, Nyeri, Kisii, Kericho, Kakamega, Bungoma, Siaya, and Kitui, ost of which are the Oppositions strong holds. IEBC has urged stakeholders in the said counties to work closely with their officers to ensure that all eligible Kenyans are registered.

On the case of pastoralists, the Commission took note of the fact that voter registration services in pastoral areas have been affected by drought and difficult logistical challenges as a result of the vastness of these areas. It therefore resolved to allow Registration Officers in the affected counties to avail registration services within the electoral areas where potential voters could be settling at the moment. The Registration Clerks in the affected counties have been directed to also accept transfer and change of particulars applications at their respective registration centers.

College students too have not been left out of the voter registration process as the commission resolved to make special arrangements that would increase access to registration services by students in Colleges and Universities across the country. The Regional Election Coordinators have been directed to conduct a special outreach programme for voter registration in Universities and Colleges within their respective jurisdictions for a period of 7 days from 8th – 14th February 2017.

Prisoners across the country will also not be denied their right to vote and this is why it has been decided that from 20^th to 27^th February, IEBC officers will visit prisons across the country and carry out the registration of prisoners. The commission noted that prisoners will only be allowed to vote for the presidential seat only.

About Soko Directory Team

Soko Directory is a Financial and Markets digital portal that tracks brands, listed firms on the NSE, SMEs and trend setters in the markets eco-system.Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/SokoDirectory and on Twitter: twitter.com/SokoDirectory

View other posts by Soko Directory Team