•In 2017, diaspora voters were restricted to East Africa and lightly more than 3,000 registered to vote.
•The ten countries meet the requirement of the electoral agency which must have at least three thousand eligible voters.
Image: FILE
Six new voting stations in the diaspora classified as Kenya's 48th county and a possible swing vote will be the epicentre of a titanic political battle between top presidential contenders.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission on Wednesday announced that Kenyans in ten foreign countries across the globe will vote in the August 9, 2022 General Election.
IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati said Kenyans with a valid passport in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, South Sudan and Qatar will join the list of their counterparts in Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and South Africa who voted in the 2017 presidential election.
Chebukati who spoke after a meeting with religious leaders on the preparations for the next election said voter registration in the 10 countries will be rolled out in December.
“According to Supreme Court advisory, diaspora voting is implemented in phases because of the expenses involved. Currently, we only have the East Africa region,” Chebukati said.
“As a commission, we have engaged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and we intend to add six countries given the numbers involved,” he said.
The announcement by Chebukati is likely to open a new battlefront among the presidential heavyweights –DP William Ruto, ODM leader Raila Odinga and Musalia Mudavadi (ANC) who have been traversing the country marketing their State House bids.
In 2017, diaspora voters were restricted to East Africa and lightly more than 3,000 registered to vote.
Already Ruto has a 14-member campaign secretariat leading his campaigns in the diaspora coordinated from Nairobi by campaign strategist and management consultant Eliud Owalo.
It comprises four representatives from eight regional chapters in North America, referred to as the National Governing Council.
The team is chaired by Daniel Sambu, deputised by David Okoth and Kennedy Karanja (secretary-general).
Other members of the secretariat who will mobilise resources for the DP are Paul Muite, Prestige Kiarie, Abraham Kirwa, Sebastian Gaitho, Acquillahs Muteti, Sarah Buyaki, Hiuko Ngari, Anwar Sadat and Samuel Cheraisi.
Lister Nyaringo and Dorcas Ndambuki are leading the team’s media liaison and publicity coordination.
The Diaspora Hustler Movement leadership will cover New England, New Jersey, New York, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Boston, Seattle, Atlanta, and Ontario in Canada.
It will coordinate the DP’s resource mobilisation, publicity, and campaign strategies.
The team will also be the focal point for building campaign synergy with other diaspora groups in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and several African countries.
Ruto has had three engagements with Kenyans in the diaspora where he marketed his agenda under the bottom-up economic model.
His United Democratic Alliance party has also recently organised town hall campaign forums in the USA.
Chebukati said the ten countries meet the requirement of the electoral agency which must have at least three thousand eligible voters.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has given us the figures which we are operating on. Those are the plans, we shall roll out registration in those areas then plan for the main election,” he said.
However, in an announcement that might deal a blow to some Kenyans living in far-flank towns in the foreign countries, Chebukati said voting will only take place in Kenyan embassies or consulates.
He said the law does not allow electronic voting saying voting in the diaspora will be conducted as it will be in Kenya.
“We shall send ballot boxes and papers. Voting will be done and the results will be sent back,” he said.
“In 2017 all diaspora votes were put together with those of prisoners to make county number 48. Then it will be done manually.”
Chebukati affirmed that the election date will not be changed assuring the country that all plans to conduct free, fair and transparent elections are rolling out as scheduled.
“The general election will take place on August 9, 2022. We are aware of court cases that wish to challenge the date but as far as we know, no court orders are stopping us from proceeding,” he said.
Chebukati said the current commission has had a long experience in conducting elections and that they would not fail Kenyans.
“IEBC has been able to conduct three general elections, two presidential elections, 42 by-elections and currently we have three pending by-elections to conduct,” he said.
Chebukati also highlighted challenges IEBC faces in its operations like numerous court pronouncements made too close to the elections that are yet to be solved and inadequate allocation of resources.
Others are the late enactment of electoral laws such as the elections financing bill and ethnic politicking that leads to ethnic profiling of IEBC commissioners that puts them in danger.
He said the challenges were external and urged Parliament with other stakeholders to help solve the problems.
“The IEBC will work with other organisations like the National Police Service to provide security during the election period, Ministry of Finance for proper allocation of funds, Parliament, Judiciary among others to help achieve our goal of free and fair elections,” he said.
The chairman urged Parliament to conduct minimum reforms that do not affect the commission’s electoral operation plan saying 16.4 per cent of the country’s polling stations do not have a 3G internet network.
Chebukati also said IEBC is not responsible for network coverage in the country and that Parliament had a role to play in enhancing reliable network connectivity across all polling stations.
The stakeholder meeting was attended by various faith-based organisations including SUPKEM, the Hindu Council, Catholic Bishops and NCCK. IEBC commissioners were present.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris