Feud over 80 new electoral units rages

By Wainaina Ndung’u

CENTRAL, KENYA: A lobby group from Central Province says voter registration figures have given it new momentum to challenge the creation of 80 new constituencies.

“We opposed the creation of new constituencies based on 2009 census figures that the Government disowned in areas like Mandera and Turkana. We feel that the voter registration figures have vindicated us,” group chairman Ephraim Maina said on Sunday.

Maina said the legal challenge against the 80 new constituencies by the Central Kenya Parliamentary Group will persist even though it has been held up by normal court delays.

The group was among those that lost a bid to stop the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from using the Ligale Commission report to delineate new boundaries.

A constitutional court threw out the group’s contention that the new boundaries were unfair to areas such as Central Province, which only got five out of the 90 new constituencies. But the MPs’ lobby filed an appeal against the ruling, which is still pending in court.

Maina said voter registration figures that showed below average performance in areas such as Turkana and Mandera counties had clearly shown that the census figures in those areas were erroneous.