The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has so far registered 3,237 new voters in Kajiado County as part of the ongoing voter registration exercise.
According to the commission, 697 voters have transferred their registration to new polling stations, while 97 applications for change of particulars have been processed.
In addition, a total of 649 voters across the county have changed their polling stations.
Speaking to the Kenya News Agency in his office in Kajiado, County Election Manager Festus Mucheke noted that Kajiado North recorded the highest number of new registrations at 1,173. This was followed by Kajiado East with 949, Kajiado West with 609, Kajiado South with 260, and Kajiado Central with 246.
Mucheke attributed the relatively low turnout to the long distances voters must travel to access constituency registration offices.
“A voter in Mashuuru for example, will find it difficult to travel all the way to Isinya to register due to the distance and the costs involved,” he said.
He, however, announced that the commission has rolled out the Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration (ECVR) exercise, set to begin on March 30. The initiative will involve field outreach programmes at the ward level across the county to bring services closer to residents.
Through the 30 days ECVR exercise, the IEBC will deploy additional voter registration kits and has already recruited and trained voter registration assistants, clerks, and ICT personnel to support the process nationwide.
All Kenyan citizens aged 18 years and above with a valid national identification card or passport are eligible to register as voters.
The commission targets to register 2.5 million new voters during phase one of the ECVR exercise.
By Diana Meneto
