By: Dickens Wasonga in Kisumu.
Kenyans countrywide yesterday ignored calls by the government to register as voters ahead of the planned national referendum on the proposed constitution.
Even as president Mwai Kibaki headed to his Othaya constituency to register as voter number one, many voter registration centers remained empty in most parts of the country the better part of yesterday.
The exercise, which kicked off in a low key, is the first to be carried out by the Interim Independent Electrol Commission (IIEC) and is set to take 45 days, during which a new voter register will be developed.
According to the commission’s chairman, Mr. Ammed Hassan Isaac, about 10 million Kenyans are targetted to register in the one and a half months exercise, which will see voters who registered previously surrender back their voters cards to the commission.
The exercise is also expected to help the electoral body to clean up the voters register which was used in the past elections, where it was alleged dead voters took part in polls.
The commission however will have to intensify its campaigns to convince the people, who are reluctant to register, if they wish to realise its targetted figure.
Many Kenyans interviwed were categorical that they have little faith in the country’s electoral process, given how the now disbanded ECK bungled the country’s last general election, whose presidential results were disputed vehemently.
Most Kenyans are still agitating for comprehensive reforms, which they believe would eliminate a repeat of the violence which rocked the nation after the 2007 polls, which left over 1000 people dead and another 300,000 internally displaced.
“Why do I need to register as a voter while those in leadership do not honour the verdict of the voters”, said a Kisumu resident.
Most political leaders, particularly members of parliament, skipped the day one of the exercise, as they were locked up in horse trading amongst their political parties at the Nairobi’s Kenya Institute of Administration, where they are trying to build consensus over the proposed constitution.
ENDS.
SHYING AWAY FROM VOTER REGISTRATION CENTRES WILL EMBOLDEN AND EMPOWER VOTE RIGGERS AND MURDERERS TO REMAIN IN AND ABUSE POWER
Kenyans who are shying away from registration centres all over the country because they are discouraged by and unhappy with the way votes were rigged and their democratic rights trodden under feet during the 2007 presidential elections are in fact doing themselves worse injustice by playing into the hands of the same killers, vote riggers. Period! They are emboldening impunity by keeping away from registration points.
For us to make changes in our leadership, politics, economy and justice system we must all to one man and woman register now and vote out in 2012 leaders who benefit from genocide, theft, impunity, corruption, injustice, and unequal distribution of our resources.
This is the time to be vigilant and prevent APs and partial civil servants who will be rigging the 2012 elections in advance by discouraging us from entering registration booths. This is the time to shout, shame and name any biased government workers who in advance will be frustrating our path to justice and democracy by interfering with the voter registration process.
Come out one, come out all and register now. You have the power with your vote to remove bad governance, corrupt leaders, political killers, and arrogant thieves from our political system.
Our apathy toward voter registration will embolden political criminals to mess up with our governance come 2012. With the change in the constitution we might even go to the poles this year should the incumbent decide to have a go at third term. Beware the Ides of March.
DR ODIDA OKUTHE