Kenya's Diaspora vote poses new headache for IEBC

IEBC officials prepare for an election. Most Kenyans in the diaspora are not captured in official data and may not want to come out to register as voters. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

NAIROBI: As it prepares for the 2017 General Election, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is grappling with the herculean task of registering an estimated three million Kenyan voters in the diaspora.

The headache arises from the fact that about 80 per cent of Kenyans living abroad are not captured in official data and may not be willing to come out to register. This raises the question of whether diaspora registration and voting, an expensive venture, is worth undertaking.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that about 900,000 Kenyans who qualify as voters live in 38 countries around the globe.

But there are others, estimated by the ministry to bring the number to around three million, who have settled in many more countries.

An officer at the ministry said they only have data on Kenyans living in ten African countries and in 28 other countries outside the continent. In its strategic plan launched in Nairobi last week, IEBC listed diaspora registration and voting as a priority in its plans for the next elections. “The commission is required by law to facilitate the progressive realisation of the right to vote for Kenyans living out of the country,” said IEBC chairman Ahmed Issack Hassan.

The strategic plan is important for the diaspora voters because the commission focused on the East African region in 2013 elections, but it now has to abide by an order made by the Supreme Court in May, requiring that consideration be made for the entire diaspora.

On July 31, 2012, New Vision Kenya (NVK Mageuzi), Kenya Diaspora Alliance (KDA), Dr Shem Ochuodho and Mr Gichane Muraguri filed a petition in the High Court in Nairobi, seeking a declaration that Kenyans in the diaspora bear a fundamental and inalienable right to be registered as voters. They demanded that they be allowed to vote and seek elective office as provided by the Constitution. Among other things, they also sought an order requiring IEBC to provide voter registration as well as satisfactory voter mechanisms for Kenyans living outside the country.

On November 15, 2012, the High Court delivered its judgment, dismissing the petition.

Aggrieved by the decision of the High Court, the applicants appealed to the Court of Appeal, and were granted most of their prayers, which IEBC appealed at the Supreme Court. A five-judge bench ordered IEBC to put in place infrastructure for comprehensive registration of Kenyans in the diaspora as voters.

Over time

But IEBC got relief in the sense that the numbers of those to be registered was to increase progressively over time and not immediately as demanded by the respondents.

The Registrar of the High Court was ordered to serve the judgment and its orders upon the Speakers of the National Assembly and the Senate.

Despite the reprieve, IEBC is expected to ensure that the progressive registration of voters over time begins before 2017 because of the Supreme Court ruling.

It has, however, emerged that it would be a tall order for the commission, because a significant majority of Kenyans living in the diaspora are illegal immigrants and may not freely present themselves for registration at the foreign missions or registration centres.

The Kenyan Diaspora Database report signed by Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Karanja Kibicho indicates that out of an estimated 400,000 Kenyans living in the USA, for example, the Kenyan Embassy in Washington has data on only 25,000 people. The same applies to South Africa, with 10,000 registered against an estimated 100,000 Kenyans living there.

In the United Kingdom, only 8,889 Kenyans have submitted their data against an estimated population of 200,000, and in Canada, only 50 Kenyans against an estimated 10,000 have officially registered with the embassy.

In Bonn, Germany, the embassy has registered 7,430 Kenyans, but Kibicho’s office says 15,000 Kenyans could be living there, while in Gaborone, Botswana, 1,151 are captured against an estimate of 3,500.

Other countries

The list of 38 countries at the ministry does not have countries like the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Southern Sudan, Nigeria, Uganda, Scotland, The Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, China, India, News Zealand and South American countries. Despite their enthusiasm, some undocumented Kenyans abroad have expressed concerns that other countries could force their deportation using the official list of overseas voters.

The PS has submitted the data in a letter to the IEBC chairman after the commission requested assistance in determining how many people it can register in the diaspora.

“We hereby forward the most current and up-to-date data on Kenyans living abroad as received from our missions,” wrote Kibicho.

To meet the requirements of coordinating and managing the participation of Kenyans living outside the country in the electoral process, the commission will also be seeking funds from external partners and fostering strategic alliances to register and provide civic education.

“For the 2013 General Election, IEBC registered 14,388,781 against a target of 22.5 million in 2012 but with an increase in population, we consider there are 11.4 million eligible voters currently out of the voters register,” said IEBC chief executive Ezra Chiloba.

The IEBC chairman has also warned that it is difficult for the commission to embark on budgetary planning for the diaspora voter registration without proper data.

He, however, told The Standard on Sunday that IEBC was committed to the implementation of the Supreme Court ruling.

The chairman of the Kenya Diaspora Alliance, Dr Shem Ochuodho, was recently quoted as having accused IEBC of resorting to sideshows and fighting Kenyans abroad instead of implementing the court ruling.