IEBC to extend voter registration exercise by 9 days in Kiambaa
As the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) embarks on the second and final 21-day round of mass voter registration, residents of Kiambaa Constituency in Kiambu county will have nine additional days to register as voters.
The additional days in Kiambaa are expected to replace time lost during the first round of voter registration occasioned by an election petition where a voter moved to court to challenge the results that declared UDA candidate Njuguna Wanjiku the winner of the by-election held on July 15, 2021.
IEBC Deputy Returning Officer for Kiambaa Anthony Kimani Mahiu confirmed the adjustment.
"We have started a 30-day voter registration exercise for Kiambaa Constituency which is a bit different from what is happening elsewhere where Kenyans will have 21 days of registering in the second and final round. Kiambaa voters who missed out on the first exercise due to an election petition should take full advantage of this," Anthony said.
George Ndia, through lawyer Njoki Mboce, made an application at the High Court in Kiambu alleging massive irregularities and malpractices in the by-election that saw Jubilee candidate Kariri Njama lose.
The election petition saw zero voters registered in the first round of a rigorous exercise conducted by IEBC between October 4 and November 5, 2021.
According to local leaders led by Damaris Wambui Waiganjo, the vast constituency will have six BVR kits per ward to enhance the registration process.
"Unlike other areas, Kiambaa constituents will be privileged to get 6 BVR kits per ward to enhance registration of voters. The Constituency did not take part in the first round of voter registration due to an election petition that was still pending in court," Wambui who is eyeing the Constituency parliamentary seat told People Daily Digital.
Urging all eligible voters to turn out in big numbers to be enlisted by the electoral agency, Wambui stated that being registered is the surest way for voters to have power to decide their preferred leaders.
Meanwhile, the voter registration exercise that began today morning saw low turnouts in various parts of Thika.
Leaders who spoke to journalists urged the electoral agency to pitch camps at higher learning institutions where most of the unregistered voters are.
