The electoral commission has captured 1,031,645 new voters in its second National Enhance continuous Voter Registration exercise that came to an end on February 6, 2022.
The exercise took place in 1,450 County Assembly Wards, institutions of higher learning, and Huduma Centers countrywide.
This is less than its target of 4.5 new voters by the end of the exercise.
In a statement on Monday, IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati said that the exercise was also closed in some of the diaspora centers that included the US, Qatar, Germany, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan.
“However, voter registration in the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and Canada will be concluded on February 7, February 14, and February 15, 2022, respectively,” Chebukati said.
During the exercise, a total of 396,163 registered voters applied to transfer to registration centers of their choice, while 2,269 changed their particulars.
The commission has so far registered 2,959 new voters from Kenyans in diaspora, 2,964 requests for transfer, and 2,036 applications for change of particulars.
The commission had attributed low numbers to voter apathy and national ID-related issues.
In the first phase of the drive that ran for one month ending November 5, last year, the IEBC listed 1.51 million new voters, translating to about 25.3 per cent of its target of six million voters
Young eligible voters are said to have lost faith in the country’s leadership as successive leaders fail to implement projects that spur growth and create jobs leading to apathy.
