Two legislators from Garissa county have urged the government to fast-track a report on issuing IDs to Kenyans registered as refugees.
They said 100,00 eligible youth in the county may be locked out of the voter registration that started on Monday.
Speaking in Dadaab during the handover of three boreholes financed by Islamic Relief yesterday, area MP Mohamed Dahiye said the report should be tabled in the National Assembly for debate and adoption.
Garissa woman representative Shukran Gure said most residents registered as refugees in Dadaab after losing livestock – their only source of livelihood – to drought.
She said Northeastern has the lowest number of registered voters because the residents cannot acquire IDs as they appear as refugees in the UNHCR database.
“If the government values the residents of Northeastern, then it should urgently address this problem, which has denied youth jobs and business,” she said.
Gure urged the government to allocate IEBC more funds and extend the one-month registration.
