Two million risk not voting in March

By Moses Njagih

NAIROBI,KENYA: Up to two million youths cannot register to vote unless they are issued with identity cards.

On Monday, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) begins Biometric Voter Registration to create a new voters’ register. According to the commission, the so-called ‘waiting cards’, temporary documents issued to those who have applied for IDs are not recognised under Kenyan law as valid for registration as a voter.

It says only an ID or Kenyan passport can be accepted by clerks that have been trained to carry out the electronic registration exercise that ends on December 19, and which, because of the tight elections timetable, cannot be extended.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of State for Immigration and Registration of Persons that houses the National Registration Bureau responsible for IDs continues to dillydally on their issuance.

The minister responsible, Mr Otieno Kajwang’, was on Wednesday unwilling to comment on the matter and instead referred The Standard to the bureau.

But the Government has also complained that some of those who applied for the document are yet to collect them from their points of registration.

Last weekend, while speaking in Kirinyaga, Finance minister Njeru Githae said the Government should not be overly criticised for failing to provide the document, saying there were many youths who had applied for IDs but never bothered to collect them.

“I have even gone to chief’s offices here and there are many documents awaiting to be collected, yet such people are also blaming the Government for delaying delivery of their cards. They should go seek them there so that they can be registered,” said Githae.

The IEBC says it has raised its concerns on the issue with “the highest authority in the land”, in reference to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Millions of youth who have attained the age of 18 years are eligible to acquire IDs, but are either clinging onto ‘waiting cards’ or are yet to apply because registration centres are too far.

The issue has raised concerns among presidential aspirants who have been urging the youth to vote on March 4 next year in large numbers. Their vote is seen as critical in a poll in which the battle to succeed President Kibaki remains tight.

Kajwang referred The Standard to a junior officer, claiming he was not in a position to give details on the IDs. “Why don’t you find out that from the Director of Registration of Persons. Mimi sijui hiyo mambo (I do not know about that issue),” said a dismissive Kajwang at his Nyayo House offices.

In August, while announcing the waiver of the Sh300 fee paid by ID applicants, Treasury had pegged the number of those who were to benefit from the waiver at about two million.

There have been calls from some political quarters to allow those without IDs to use the ‘waiting cards’ to register as voters, but IEBC Chief Executive Officer James Oswego said only a national ID or passport is acceptable.

“The commission is alive to the fact that lack of IDs may lead many youth not to be registered and it is a genuine concern that I am aware even the Chairman has raised with the highest authorities; the two principals. We are only hoping that the matter will be addressed to ensure the youths are not disenfranchised,” said Oswago.

Urgent matter

Lawyers told The Standard use of any other document not clearly state in the law could threaten the credibility of the General Election as the outcome could be challenged in court.

Embakasi MP Ferdinand Waititu and his Makadara counterpart Gideon Mbuvi moved to court seeking orders to compel the IEBC to allow the use of ‘waiting cards’ for voter registration.

But lawyers and even the civil society are in agreement that the only solution is for the Registrar of Persons to hasten the issuance of the IDs.

The head of the National Civil Society Congress (NCSC), Mr Morris Odhiambo said the Government must issue IDs to those with the ‘waiting cards’ and others yet to be registered.

“It is a very urgent matter that calls for a nationwide drive. If possible, this can even be done alongside the registration of voters so that those who get the IDs in the drive are immediately enlisted as voters,” said Odhiambo.

He said the period within which the ID applicants have to wait for the document should be reduced.

“I believe if there had been a serious effort to issue the document after Kenyans started complaining of the slow process, the matter would have long been resolved,” he added.

Presidential aspirant Musalia Mudavadi issuance of IDs must be done quickly so as not to deny the youths their vote. “We may have many citizens being disenfranchised, not because of their fault, but because of the Government’s bureaucracy. That is why the Government must intensify the process of issuing IDs,” said the United Democratic Forum (UDF) presidential aspirant.

Citizens right

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta’s The National Alliance (TNA) on Wednesday said the rights of the youth would be undermined unless IEBC agrees to register them using the waiting slips.

Party chairman Johnson Sakaja said they had established that about five million eligible voters do not have the document including the youths.

“It is every Kenyan’s right to vote and IEBC should accept waiting cards so that the five million young voters affected are not locked out of the Electoral process,” said TNA Chairman Johnson Sakaja.