IEBC has registered 202,518 new voters out of a weekly target of 1.5mn in the last seven days in the ongoing mass registration.
Chairman Wafula Chebukati attributed the low turnout to Insecurity in parts of Lamu, Baringo and Laikipia Counties as well as along Kenya-Somalia borders.
“Lack of National Identity Cards by a population that have reached the age of 18 years above have not received their ID cards for various reasons," Chebukati said as party of a challenge.
In a statement on Monday, Chebukati said general voter apathy was also a cause of concern and the culture of last-minute rush where Kenyans go for exercises when deadlines approach.
He said the Commission shall continue to explore solutions to these identified challenges in collaboration with all stakeholders in the electoral process.
As a strategy of ensuring that eligible voters turn up in large numbers, Chebukati said the Commission has hired voter mobilizers in the 290 constituencies to create enthusiasm and awareness of the exercise.
The Commission targets to register 6 million new eligible Kenyans, on the basis of information from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census report.
The target was disaggregated to each County, Constituency and County Assembly Ward to enable monitoring of progress.
Chebukati said in 2017, Kenyans did not optimally utilize the early days to register.
“The consequence was a mad rush and long queues in the last days to the close of the registration drive. Let us reverse this trend by shedding off the tag of ‘last-minute Kenyan rush,” Chebukati said.
He called upon all Kenyan leaders across the board; both State and Non-State actors to go out of their way in assisting the Commission mobilize eligible citizens to register as voters.
“The Commission will continue sharing updates and progress reports of the voter registration exercise on a weekly basis,” he said.
