IEBC targets to list 215,000 new voters in Nakuru
Mr Joseph Omondi (left) the executive director of Midrift Hurinet and Nakuru County Commissioner Erustus Mbui during a civic engagement towards free, fair, credible and peaceful 2022 elections in Nakuru Town on September 22, 2021.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) targets to register 215,000 new voters in Nakuru County when the countrywide registration kicks off on October 4.
The electoral agency hopes to register 4.5million new voters countrywide ahead of the 2022 elections.
According to the Nakuru County IEBC manager Silas Rotich, the commission will employ 330 clerks in the county to man registration centres in all the 55 wards.
“We have made provision of employing six clerks in all the 55 wards to ensure we register 215,000 new voters in the region,” said Mr Rotich.
The IEBC has an elaborate plan to have a total of 24 million voters by the end of December on its register as it plans to manage one of the most competitive General Elections since independence.
At the same time Mr Rotich said that the commission has started a pilot project of new delimitation boundaries in five constituencies.
“This is a boundary review exercise which the commission is mandated to do after every 8-12 years and this should not be misconstrued as we are adding new constituencies in the county,” said Mr Rotich.
He, however, pointed out that the IEBC will also review the ward boundaries depending on the population. This, he said, could see some wards merged.
The official was speaking during a civic engagement towards a free, fair, credible and peaceful 2022 elections meeting in Nakuru Town on Thursday. The event was organised by the Midrift-Hurinet and Danish Institute Against Torture.
The participants were drawn from the national government, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission, political parties, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, faith based organisations, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, community and social based organisation and the media.
The Executive Director of Midrift-Hurinet, Joseph Omondi urged IEBC to prepare adequately for the polls.
“The 2022 presidential elections are promising to be tough and IEBC must put its best foot forward to deliver a credible election and prepare for a run-off as parties and candidates have already hit the road ahead of the campaign period,” said Mr Omondi.
He called for a joint civic engagement to ensure the country holds credible polls without any chaos.
“We shall escalate the resolutions of this engagement to the grassroots and we shall hold meetings in all the 55 wards to conduct serious voter education, civic education to ensure the country holds a peaceful election,” said Mr Omondi.
