By Erick Otieno
The Acting Chief Executive Officer and Commission Secretary of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Moses Ledama Sunkuli, on Monday visited Migori County where he held a consultative meeting with electoral officials at the county’s commission headquarters.
Addressing members of the press after the meeting, Mr Sunkuli said the visit was part of a nationwide tour aimed at assessing the progress of the ongoing mass voter registration exercise and conveying goodwill from the commission to its staff.
“I am going round the country to see the progress of mass voter registration and also to pass the commission’s message of goodwill to our workers at this time,” he said.
However, the IEBC boss expressed concern over the low turnout of new voters across the country, urging eligible citizens who have not yet registered to do so before the exercise closes in eight days.
“We are witnessing low voter registration turnout across the country. I urge all those who have not registered to come out and do so, especially now that we only have eight days remaining before the closure of this exercise,” he noted.
Mr Sunkuli revealed that the commission had agreed on new strategies to boost registration following concerns raised by Migori County officials. These include working closely with grassroots administrative units.
“After engaging with our county officials, we have agreed on new strategies where we will involve and collaborate with village chiefs and Nyumba Kumi leaders to ensure that everyone is reached,” he added.
He also raised alarm over the large number of uncollected national identity cards lying in government offices, terming it a major setback to the voter registration drive.
“Very many IDs are still lying uncollected within government offices. We urge the relevant authorities to ensure these IDs reach their rightful owners before the end of the mass voter registration exercise,” he said.
At the same time, Mr Sunkuli commended Beach Management Units (BMUs) for their support in mobilizing fisherfolk to register as voters.
“We applaud the Beach Management Units officials for the good collaboration that has seen many fisherfolk enlisted as voters in the ongoing exercise,” he stated.
According to the IEBC, Migori County has so far achieved 60 percent of its voter registration target, with expectations of surpassing 80 percent by the end of the exercise.
Migori County Election Centre Manager, Ben Misati, disclosed that 30,430 new voters had been registered as of Monday.
“As at today, we have registered 30,430 new voters, which translates to 60 percent of our target. Within the remaining eight days, we expect to register an additional 23,000 voters, which will push our performance to above 80 percent,” said Mr Misati.
IEBC officials are expected to return to Migori County on Wednesday this week to oversee the progress of the registration exercise and reinforce ongoing mobilization efforts.
