Article 38 (3) of the Constitution provides that “every adult citizen has the right, without unreasonable restrictions, to be registered as a voter, to vote by secret ballot in any election or referendum and to be a candidate of public office”.
This provision guarantees every person who has attained the age of majority and is of sound mind, of their political rights, including to register as a voter, participate in elections and be eligible to hold public office, if elected in a free, fair and transparent election.
Since registration as a voter is a prerequisite to election participation — to vote and/or be voted for — the Constitution went further to look at voter registration in Article 83 (3).
It provides that “administrative arrangements for the registration of voters and the conduct of elections shall be designed to facilitate, and shall not deny, an eligible citizen the right to vote or stand for election”.
This provision clearly states a citizen may not be denied their right to vote as a result of organisational processes.
Since early October, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has been registering voters, particularly those who have attained 18 years.
In their estimates, there are over six million eligible new voters. Out of these, IEBC has targeted to reach 4.5 million by the end of this voter registration on November 2.
In the one-month exercise running throughout, including Sundays and the Mashujaa Day holiday, it was expected that on average, 150,000 new voters would register every single day.
However, to the disappointment of many, the turnout so far has been extremely low.
Out of the 4.5 million target, only 800,462 have registered so far. This is a paltry 17.8 per cent. The daily average of those registering across the country is 32,018 compared to the targeted 150,000 per day.
This means voter registration has been a failure.
In urban counties such as Mombasa and Nairobi, the turnout is barely five per cent. Some of the reasons given include lack of awareness, apathy, lack of national identity cards and insecurity.
With just about five days remaining before the registration deadline, the appalling numbers call for a review of the strategy.
Kenyans must consider the reasons behind the poor turnout. One being lack of publicity, particularly among young Kenyans.
This time around, the IEBC did not do their usual public campaigns due to a lack of enough resources. The government has not given the IEBC enough money but worse, it has stopped the commission from receiving funds from donors and other partners.
This single move by the government to starve the IEBC of funds has contributed not only to a lack of awareness of electoral processes but also the denial of citizen’s constitutional right to vote.
With immediate effect, the government should rescind its decision to stop the commission from receiving funds directly from donors.
No rightful thinking donor will plough election funds through a government that is riddled with corruption and at a time when politicians are known to be looking for campaign funds.
To remedy the situation, the IEBC must extend the voter registration period to allow Kenyans more time to register. As it does so, it should use the resources at its disposal to advertise the exercise and mobilise Kenyans through media to register.
By any standards, reaching only 17.8 per cent of the target is unacceptable. The IEBC must do more to reach its target. Anything short of this will be contrary to the laws of the land and can be challenged in a court of law.
After all is said and done, the duty to register as voters lies on every Kenyan adult. As citizens, we have an obligation to register and later on, vote for good leaders.
To be successful, we must reach out to all, especially the youth, and implore them to register. Kenyans will do well to remember that bad leaders are put in power by citizens who do not vote.
