PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
Kenya: Electoral body decries voter apathy ahead of 2017 Presidential elections
Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has decried the low voter turnout in various regions across the East African nation, saying only 868,073 voters have registered to vote in next year's Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
In a statement here Friday, the IEBC said President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to defend his seat during the forthcoming Presidential, Parliamentary, Gubernatorial and County Assembly elections under Kenya's 2010 Constitution.
IEBC Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba said the voter registration turnout remains low across the country with the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits deployed in every ward registering an average of seven people daily.
"The turnout has been generally low across the country. A detailed analysis of this trend will be undertaken at the end of this exercise to inform future Mass Voter Registration exercises," Chiloba said in a statement.
The voter registration activity has encountered some challenges, including the arrest of the IEBC clerks in the disputed Island of Migingo in Western Kenya, by the Ugandan Police.
The IEBC said its clerks arrested during the voter registration exercise have been released and the registration process resumed on the Island, which has been claimed by the Ugandan authorities.
"The Commission is concerned about the security situation in some areas," Chiloba said.
An IEBC clerk was attacked during the week and a BVR kit destroyed in Lagdera in Kenya's northeastern region. The IEBC said investigations into the incident continue.
The opposition accuses the Electoral Commission of favouring strongholds of the ruling Jubilee Alliance Party, including in the distribution of the BVR kits which is used to capture Biometric details of the voters. The idea is to prevent multiple voting in elections.
However, the IEBC which initially decried lack of adequate funds for the voter registration, was given funds by the European Union.
The opposition also insists the Commissioners of the IEBC should also be sacked for engaging in corruption after a Court in the United Kingdom jailed directors of a security printing firm for bribery.
The IEBC officials were allegedly bribed Ksh50 million in what has been referred to as the "Chickengate scandal" because the directors of Smith and Ouzman channeled the payments to the officials, calling the payments "chicken".
IEBC Chairman Isaac Hassan and other current and former officials of the commission were this week grilled by the Anti Corruption Commission over the scandal.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga and his supporters insist the IEBC remains partisan and cannot be trusted to conduct fair elections in 2017.
-0- PANA AO/VAO 11March2016
In a statement here Friday, the IEBC said President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to defend his seat during the forthcoming Presidential, Parliamentary, Gubernatorial and County Assembly elections under Kenya's 2010 Constitution.
IEBC Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba said the voter registration turnout remains low across the country with the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits deployed in every ward registering an average of seven people daily.
"The turnout has been generally low across the country. A detailed analysis of this trend will be undertaken at the end of this exercise to inform future Mass Voter Registration exercises," Chiloba said in a statement.
The voter registration activity has encountered some challenges, including the arrest of the IEBC clerks in the disputed Island of Migingo in Western Kenya, by the Ugandan Police.
The IEBC said its clerks arrested during the voter registration exercise have been released and the registration process resumed on the Island, which has been claimed by the Ugandan authorities.
"The Commission is concerned about the security situation in some areas," Chiloba said.
An IEBC clerk was attacked during the week and a BVR kit destroyed in Lagdera in Kenya's northeastern region. The IEBC said investigations into the incident continue.
The opposition accuses the Electoral Commission of favouring strongholds of the ruling Jubilee Alliance Party, including in the distribution of the BVR kits which is used to capture Biometric details of the voters. The idea is to prevent multiple voting in elections.
However, the IEBC which initially decried lack of adequate funds for the voter registration, was given funds by the European Union.
The opposition also insists the Commissioners of the IEBC should also be sacked for engaging in corruption after a Court in the United Kingdom jailed directors of a security printing firm for bribery.
The IEBC officials were allegedly bribed Ksh50 million in what has been referred to as the "Chickengate scandal" because the directors of Smith and Ouzman channeled the payments to the officials, calling the payments "chicken".
IEBC Chairman Isaac Hassan and other current and former officials of the commission were this week grilled by the Anti Corruption Commission over the scandal.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga and his supporters insist the IEBC remains partisan and cannot be trusted to conduct fair elections in 2017.
-0- PANA AO/VAO 11March2016
