Turkana voters in Uganda and South Sudan might not vote

 

Thousands of voters from Turkana County are in Uganda and South Sudan, where they went months ago to look for water and pasture for their livestock in the face of a biting drought.

And with just 13 days to the August elections, fears are high that the herdsmen might not make it back in time for the elections.

County Elections Manager George Oyugi said yesterday there was little the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) could do to bring the voters back.

"Even if we wanted to help, we are constrained as we cannot move into Uganda and South Sudan and set up polling stations there. The voters will just have to come back to the county and vote where they are registered," said Mr Oyugi.

Local leaders are hoping the herders will return home following  the onset of rains in the region. Oyugi also said his office was working with political leaders to ensure that the elections were peaceful.

"We will meet the chief agents of the various political parties on Tuesday (today) so we can brief them on what is expected of all of us. We will then have a peace forum on July 27 to inform the public of our mandate and encourage peaceful elections," he said.

Registered voters

Turkana County has 191,435 registered voters, according to IEBC.

The pastoralists moved to the neighbouring countries last September due to a protracted drought.

In January, former county IEBC chairman Moses Munyes said election officials pursued the herders to the neighbouring counties to mobilise them to register in polling stations near the border.

"We understand that our people deserve their constitutional rights. Our people, who moved to Uganda and other neighbouring countries looking for pasture and water, will be registered as expected. We have teams that are mobilising the people to move to the border to be registered during the exercise," he said.

Worried that the pastoralists may not turn up to vote on August 8, Turkana leaders led by County Peace Ambassador Emmanuel Imana last week went to the Kenya-Uganda border to plead with them to return in time to cast their ballots.

"We told them it is good for them to vote in leaders who are friendly to Uganda so that in times of need, they can find help through provision of water and pasture," said Mr Imana.

Deputy Governor Peter Ekai hoped the pastoralists would return with the onset of the rains.

Experiencing rainfall

"Some parts of the county are experiencing rainfall and the vegetation is slowly growing back. Our pastoralists are expected to come back home anytime now. The conflict in South Sudan is forcing those who went there to come back home," said Mr Ekai.

"Those in Kotido registered in Nakitong'o; those in Moroto registered in Urum and Lokiriama and those in Kabong registered in Nawuontos and Oropoi. We are expecting them to turn up in large numbers," he added.