IEBC in Trans Nzoia County have so far registered 21,062 people as voters since the mass voter registration exercise kicked off. According to Trans Nzoia county commissioner Anne Gakuria, the number of the residents who have registered is still low as per the targeted tally of 105,638 by IEBC.
She said among the reasons why the number is still low is negligence, especially among the youth even though there have already been numerous sensitization efforts.
Another notable reason involves Identification cards, whereby applicants have received their IDs late or even haven’t received them yet.
She, however, disclosed that plans are underway to ensure most people are registered in Trans Nzoia county, with door to door campaigns which will be carried out by chiefs and assistant chiefs one notable sensitization tool to be used. She added that the announcement by President Uhuru Kenyatta to have IDs availed quicker was a step in the right direction.
The County Registrar of Persons Millicent Wanyonyi, however, said since the exercise begun, the number of the applicants seeking IDs has risen, an indication of the influence of the voter registration exercise. She said more than 50,000 identity cards haven’t been collected so far.
However the registration exercise in the County encountered challenges in Tuwani Ward, “We had visited registration centres at Tuwani Ward on Tuesday when the machines failed and several people had to go home without registering as voters. We call upon the IEBC to make sure their machines work as expected,” said John Walubengo, a voter at Tuwani.
However, the IEBC Co-coordinator for Saboti Sub County promised that such failures will never occur again, calling upon residents to turn up in large numbers and register as voters.