Diaspora voter listing to last 15 days despite calls for extension

Today marks day 10 of the ongoing Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration exercise.

The programme commenced on January 17 and will end on February 6 in all the 1,450 County Assembly Wards (CAWs), institutions of higher learning and Huduma centres countrywide.

The commission also commenced Diaspora voter registration on January 21 at Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates.

Kenyans in Arusha, Germany and Qatar have continued to turn up to register as voters, change their particulars and transfer their polling stations in the ongoing exercise. 

According to IEBC, in the first week of Diaspora Voter registration, the Kenya Embassy in Berlin enlisted 15 new voters with 20 applying to transfer polling stations and 20 changing their particulars.

"Kenyan citizens report in at the Embassy of Kenya in Doha-Qatar to register as voters, change their particulars and transfer their polling station. The Embassy of Kenya in Doha launched the Diaspora Voter registration on 23rd January 2022 and will run for 15 days," IEBC said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to IEBC, only 163 new Diaspora voters were enlisted on the first week with 184 requests for transfer and 136 applications for change of particulars

Kenyans in the diaspora have asked IEBC to extend the deadline for voter registration from 15 days to at least six weeks.

In a statement on Saturday, the Kenya Diaspora Alliance (KDA) which consists of 46 Kenyan diaspora organizations around the globe faulted IEBC for giving 15 days to Kenyans in the diaspora to register as voters yet other citizens in Kenya have been given 3 weeks.

"This discrepancy in the time limits denies Kenyans in the diaspora a fair opportunity to register in their numbers," the KDA said.

The alliance also said that some of the diaspora quarters now listed for registration cover large areas spanning states, counties and continents.

This means that Kenyans who wish to vote must travel long distances to register as a voter.