• Raila said he was worried that while supporters of his opponents were aggressively registering to vote, his own political backyard is reluctant to take part in the exercise.
• IEBC’s assessment of voter listing in most Nyanza counties in the past weeks has returned worrying trend of low numbers being recorded by the clerks.
Image: DICKENS WASONGA
Concerned about the low voter registration exercise in his Nyanza support base, ODM leader Raila Odinga took mop-up campaigns in Kisumu on Monday.
Raila teamed up with the ODM top brass, among them, the deputy party leader Wycliffe Oparanya, the party’s national chairman John Mbadi and a section of Kisumu county MPs with the single rallying call to his supporters to visit the registration centers and obtain the voter’s cards.
His first stop was at Ahero town where his chopper had landed minutes to midday.
Traveling by road, Raila’s team addressed impromptu rallies along the way to Kisumu.
Crowds gathered at Ahero, Korowe, Rabuor, and Nyamasaria anxiously waiting for the arrival of his entourage.
Raila addressed the first meeting at Kondele roundabout where he said he was worried that while supporters of his opponents were aggressively registering to vote, his own political backyard is reluctant to take part in the exercise.
“When faced with the kind of battle that is ahead of us, it would be ill-advised to remain unprepared,” he said.
Speaking in Luo, Raila said, "If your opponent is sharpening the knife and you are busy singing and clapping for him, is that a strategy or foolishness?”
IEBC’s assessment of voter listing in most Nyanza counties in the past weeks has returned a worrying trend of low numbers being recorded by the clerks.
In Raila's home county of Siaya, IEBC is targeting to register 105,378 new voters at the end of the month-long exercise.
So far the commission has only registered 14,308 new voters across the county, with Bondo constituency taking the lead.
Bondo constituency by last Tuesday was leading with 3,911 new voters, followed by Alego Usonga with 2,875 new voters, third is Gem with 2,339 new voters, fourth Rarieda constituency with 1,904 new voters, fifth Ugenya with 1766 new voters and Ugunja constituency has 1513 new voters as per the records of the commission by last Tuesday.
In most centers in Nyanza, it is not uncommon to see IEBC officials relaxing at their working station as there are no voters to be registered.
Voter registration turnout in most counties in the region worries even the IEBC officials.
Siaya county IEBC returning officer Ruth Kulundu on Tuesday said with the ongoing registration across the county the turnout is still low as compared to the 2019 population census.
“2019 population census Siaya county had 999,184 with 459,362 registered voters across the county,” Kulundu said.
“So with that population in the 2022 general election, we are expecting to have 629,326 active voters,”
She said the county has also done 2,406 transfers with Bondo topping the list with 964 and Ugenya being the least with 140.
She said they expected figures to increase though they might not meet the target set by IEBC.
“Siaya county received about 100,000 new ID cards but among those new IDs some are not permanent residents here so the possibility of them shifting is high, and others are learners within our institutions. Also, the probability of them shifting is high once the institution closes,” she said.
In Kisumu, Raila said he was worried that his backyard was not giving the voter listing exercise the consideration it deserves.
“I'm back home. Kenya is yearning for change but I'm worried because you are not fully prepared,” he said
Raila urged his supporters to take advantage of the remaining period to enlist en masse as it happens in other areas.
“I want all the youths who want to be my soldiers to visit the centers and register en mass," he said.
“We must get ready because we are preparing for the battle,” he added.
Raila said the third and the last liberation will be worn with the support of the youth.
“The first liberation got us self-rule, the second one brought us a new constitutional dispensation and this one will bring us economic liberation. It is an economic revolution,” he said.
He said the ills that bedeviled the country at Independence were still affecting Kenyans.
“We have to fight ignorance, poverty, and diseases,” he said
He said his government will ensure that every young Kenyan is accorded equal opportunity to grow wealth.
“We must ensure the youth acquire technical training skills to make them useful to the society,” he said.
The former prime minister said he will ensure young people involved in small and medium enterprises access loans to grow their businesses.
He also pledged that such businesses be given seven-year tax relief.
“KRA will be required to allow them to operate without being taxed until they break even,” he said.
Raila said the Special Economic zones to be established at Miwani, will support manufacturing industries and absorb the unemployed youths from the county.
“We have expanded the Port so that we position Kisumu as a regional economic hub,” he said.
He said those who live in arid and semi areas and the urban poor will benefit from the social program that will see the target group receive Sh6,000 each month.
The initiative, according to Raila will cost Sh140 billion per year.
"I was the PM for five years. I know where the money will come from. I’ll seal corruption loopholes to get the money,” he said.
Governor Oparanya, who also addressed the impromptu rally, also emphasized the need for ODM supporters to register as voters.
“We want Kenyans to unite. I have supported Baba for a long time and this time we are optimistic he will be at State House,” he said.
Oparanya noted that compared to all the 2022 presidential hopefuls, only Raila has the capability to revive the economy of the country.
“You must reject candidates who are promising our youths wheelbarrows,” he said.
Speaking at Kondele, Mbadi said Since 1992 the Nyanza people have been voting in vain.
“People from central have never supported Baba but this time they are with him. This is why we are asking you to ensure you register in large numbers,” he said.
Kisumu county woman representative Rosa Buyu and Kisumu Central MP Fred Ouda accompanied the opposition leader during the Monday tour of the lakeside city.
Edited by D Tarus