- In January, the IEBC tried again but only managed to net 12 per cent of the remaining 4.5 million potential voters.
- Philip Dunga, a captain at Jovenna football club, said they have benefited from the initiative.
Image: MANUEL ODENY
A non-government organisation in Migori town has moved in to avert voter apathy among youths ahead of the general election by organising a voter education exercise.
The Rural AIDS Prevention and Development Organisation has been organising barazas, football tournaments, music and drama extravaganza targeting youths.
“The main aim is to impact voter education because most of the youths are first-time voters and we want them to understand the agenda and visions of politicians before they make a decision at the ballot,” Omole Opinya, Rapado programmes officer said.
Opinya said they undertook the initiative after being informed about voter apathy among the youths and their tendency of being at the frontline in causing chaos.
“We have organised football events for teams to mobilise our community to turn out in large numbers during the general election and make the right decisions,” Opinya said.
He was speaking at Jovenna Grounds in Migori town on Sunday, a venue that has been organising the events.
He said as activists, they were shocked when the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission recorded low numbers when they tried to register youths to vote.
Last October, the commission set an ambitious target of adding 6 million new voters within a month but only a quarter of the projected number showed interest.
In January, the IEBC tried again but only managed to net 12 per cent of the remaining 4.5 million potential voters.
“These figures are alarming and we are afraid that those who are registered may even decide to sit back at home further denting the voter turnout,” Japhet Imonje, an officer at the organisation said.
Philip Dunga, a captain at Jovenna football club, said they have benefited from the initiative.
“We were organised in teams and we will ensure we have a maximum voter in next month polls,” he said.
Dunga said they will also be keen to educate youths against being used to create chaos and disturbance during and after the polls.
On August 9, the country is set to go to the polls with 22,120,458 voters across 46,232 polling stations expected to cast their votes according to data from IEBC.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)