Low voter registration in Uhuru Kenyatta's backyard raises concern

A group of youths demonstrate in Nairobi’s central business district in an effort to get the youth to register as voters. [PHOTO: WAWERU MURAGE/ STANDARD]

NYERI: Central Kenya leaders have raised concern over low voter-registration turnout in the region.

At the same time, the leaders have expressed fears that the perceived poor performance of the Government is to blame for the low turnout that may lead to voter apathy in next year's elections.

Since last year, President Uhuru Kenyatta's government has been forced to deal with one corruption scandal after another while majority of projects promised have remained unimplemented.

At a recent church service at AIPCA Ngangarithi in Nyeri Town, MP Esther Murugi told the congregation that the youth could be shying away from the registration due to the perceived wanting performance of the Government.

"I hear some people are not willing to register because they feel the election will not bring any change to them. We feel you and understand your frustration but a vote is a very important tool to choose who to lead you," Ms Murugi told the congregation.

She said most residents were complaining that the Jubilee government, which they overwhelmingly voted for in 2013 had not done anything significant for them.

"They (residents) are reluctant to register as voters since they feel no development has been realised since the Jubilee government took over in 2013 but this is not true since President Kenyatta has performed well. The rate of corruption is, however, too high," Ms Murugi said.

The MP's sentiments paint a general picture of discontentment among residents in President Kenyatta's backyard.

Panic is already gripping the region with some MPs blaming non-issuance of identity cards for the low registration.

Tigania West MP David Kareithi wants the Government to first address the problem of youths without IDs, and suggests a system where people are registered as voters and issued ID cards at the same time.

North Imenti MP Rahim Dawood said other than lack of the IDs, there is a problem created by the perception that leaders are pushing people to register as voters.

"What we are witnessing could be a new development in the commercialisation of voter's cards. I have a feeling that there are many eligible voters out there who are placing a condition that they must be bribed to register, and it could be one of the biggest affronts ever to our democracy," he said.

The MP is said to have raised the issue during the Mt Kenya Parliamentary Group meeting in Nyeri last month, and at the Jubilee Party's (JP) Mt Kenya East meeting in Chuka last week.

As a way of addressing the problem, Nyeri Senator Mutahi Kagwe wants employers to give a day off to their employees so that they can register as voters.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has already raised the alarm over low voter registration in Upper Central region.

Regional Co-ordinator John Mwangi said unregistered voters were keeping off registering within Nyeri, Nyandarua and Kirinyaga counties.

Mr Mwangi said only 11.9 per cent of the targeted new registrations had so far taken up the voter's card.

"People are still dragging in registering as voters. We have also been informed that there so many uncollected IDs in the national registration bureaus and Huduma Centre branches," said Mwangi.

The three counties projected to register 253,548 new voters but by end of day on Monday this week, only 45,064 had registered.

"We targeted to register 73,955 voters in Nyandarua but only 14,370 who comprise 13 per cent had registered. In Nyeri, only 17,936 of the targeted 102,954 had registered," said the IEBC officer.

And in Kirinyaga County, 12,758 had registered against a target of 76,639. "We are asking leaders and all other stakeholders to conduct massive campaigns that will ensure youths register," said Mwangi.

During the second week, 310,300 people registered, an improvement from the first week's 251,894.