Juja: IEBC risks missing target in new voter registration
By Mathew.Ndungu, January 31, 2022As the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) enters the last week of massive voter registration exercise, the electoral body risks failing to meet its target in Juja constituency going by the low turnouts that continue to be registered.
In Juja Constituency which has a target of 25,000 new voters, only 3,500 voters have been enlisted since the second phase of the exercise began.
Juja Constituency Returning Officer Justus Mbithi said that while IEBC clerks have been trying to get people registered, the available registration machines are less and the available officers cannot manage to move everywhere sensitizing unregistered voters to be enlisted.
“We have three BVR kits in every ward and sometimes you find that our clerks cannot get to every corner of the ward. We are slightly above 3,500 voters against a target of 9,000 new voters so far,” he said.
Speaking during a major voters sensitisation campaign organized by Aloise Kinyanjui, a Juja businessman and which saw 2,000 new voters register, Mbithi said the electoral body will continue to woo unregistered persons to be enlisted.
Kinyanjui on his part rooted for political goodwill from all the hopeful leaders in sensitizing unregistered persons to get into the IEBC system.
“If all politicians or aspirants conduct such sensitisation forums across the country, I’m sure we will help the electoral body in a big way achieve its target,” Kinyajui who is Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria’s brother said.
The Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration exercise commenced on January 17 and will end on February 6 across the country. IEBC targets to register 4.5 million new voters across the country in the second phase of the voters registration exercise.