Step up voter education, EU mission urges

By Caroline Rwenji

NAIROBI; KENYA: The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has been challenged to intensify voter education ahead of the March 4 General Election.

The European Union Election Observers Mission (EU EOM) asked the Issack Hassan-led team to continue educating the public on electoral processes to ensure peace during the election.

“The IEBC should, in the weeks to come, put additional efforts in civic education,” the EU EOM chief observer, Mr Alojz Peterle said.

He noted several programmes on civic education have been conducted around the country but urged for more adding, “There can never be enough voter education.”

He said the public, politicians and other stakeholders want credible, fair and peaceful elections. “We will be attentive to irregularities,” he assured Kenyans. He urged politicians who may contest the election results to follow the laid down procedure. “There is new legislation in place and stakeholders have to adapt to the rules,” Mr Peterle said.

Election observers

The IEBC, he said, has a challenging task ahead of them but noted they have the capacity to play their role.

“Facing such a multiple election is not easy but we don’t have any reason to doubt IEBC’s ability to manage the challenging task,” he said.

He assured Kenyans his team of 70 observers would be impartial and offer a balanced and informed analysis of the polls.

After the Election Day, Mr Peterle said, the observers would issue a preliminary statement on initial findings and in two months, publish a final report, including recommendations for future elections.

Peterle is a member of the European Parliament from Slovania, a member of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs’ Committee and a former Slovenian Prime Minister.