North Rift: Official says over 30,000 ID cards awaiting collection before residents can register as voters

Charles Atichi Okwayo displays his voter's card after registering at the M.V Patel Memorial Hall in Eldoret yesterday. [PHOTO: ELIUD KIPSANG]

The Registrar of Persons in the North Rift region says more than 30,000 national identity cards are lying in his office and has appealed to applicants to collect them in order to register as voters.

Paul Keitany, the North Rift co-ordinator for the registration of persons, said the ID cards had been in his office for over one year.

"Uasin Gishu County is leading with the highest number of uncollected ID cards at 13,926, followed by Nandi with 6,928, Trans Nzoia 6,252, Elgeyo Marakwet 2,214, West Pokot 3,774 and Turkana 1,521," he said.

"Those who applied as first-time applicants or those that had lost their cards and applied for duplicates should pick them from our offices," said Mr Keitany.

He said it was prudent for political leaders to ensure that their supporters got ID cards before asking them to register as voters.

He said his officers would work with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to ensure that all Kenyans who qualified to register as voters did so without any hiccups.

Sammy Cheboi, an IEBC registration officer at Kiboino centre along the Iten-Kabarnet highway in Baringo County, said the first day of registration began on a low key.

"Most of the people who came in the morning had no ID cards and we asked them to carry them tomorrow in order to be successfully registered," said Mr Cheboi.

And youths in Nyandarua County have been urged to register as voters to enable them to elect leaders committed to steering meaningful development in the region.

Speaking in Kaimbaga ward in Ol Kalou constituency, County Chief ICT and Communication Officer Wilson Kigwa said all public forums would be used to sensitise and encourage residents to register before the end of the registration drive.