The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission in Homa Bay has taken its voter registration drive to Lake Victoria islands to enable fishermen to register.
The registration drive which started on Thursday will ensure they are not left out.
IEBC is targeting to register about 112,000 people in Homa Bay before the exercise ends.
The commission had registered 8,200 people (7.2 per cent), by the end of Wednesday.
Homa Bay has eight habitable islands whose occupants are fishermen and traders.
Some of the islands include Kiwa, Mfangano, Remba, Rusinga, Kibuogi Sukru, Ngodhe and Ringiti.
Homa Bay IEBC manager Michael Kosgei said they have sent clerks to the islands to conduct the exercise for one week.
He spoke to journalists in his Homa Bay town office.
“Eligible people should turn up and participate in the exercise. Nobody should be left out,” Kosgei said.
Fishermen have become difficult to reach due to the nature of their work and some cited difficulties moving to the mainland.
Last week, Homa Bay Woman Representative Gladys Wanga urged IEBC to take the registration exercise to the islands to enable fishermen to enlist and participate in elections.
Wanga asked the government to facilitate election officials to register people in the islands.
“Many fishermen living in islands are likely to be left out in mass voter registration because of inaccessibility. The government should work on ways to ensure they are also enlisted,” Wanga said.
County beach management unit chairman Edward Oremo welcomed the move, saying fishermen have been sidelined in the ongoing exercise.
He said this will provide an opportunity for fishermen to participate in elections.
“We held a meeting with beach officials and agreed that fishermen who are not registered as voters should be barred from accessing the lake. The move will help eligible people to register as voters,” Oremo said.
He appealed to fishermen to accord IEBC officials support as they carry out their activities on the islands.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
