IEBC set to release voter roll Friday

• The total number of registered voters had reached 12.7 million by last Sunday, December 16. This was expected to rise as more Kenyans made a last minute dash for registration on Tuesday. IEBC had targeted to register 18 million voters during the month-long exercise.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) plans to release the number of voters who registered to take part in the March 4 General Election Friday.

IEBC chief executive James Oswago said the voter roll would be released after being verified because of its sensitive nature.

“We need to take our time and release the right figures. We want to get it right because that number will be of interest to everyone including politicians,” said Mr Oswago.

The total number of registered voters had reached 12.7 million by last Sunday, December 16. This was expected to rise as more Kenyans made a last minute dash for registration on Tuesday. IEBC had targeted to register 18 million voters during the month-long exercise.

The figures for North Eastern province will be of interest as only 111, 265, less than a quarter of the 478,207 voters expected had registered by Sunday.

There were fears that the 2009 population and housing census figures for the area were distorted. Special Programmes assistant minister Mohammed Ali had asked the Planning ministry to carry out a repeat census.

Mr Ali, who is also the Moyale MP, said the population of the Boranas, was more than 500,000 and not the census result of 161,399.

An assistant minister in the Ministry of State for Development of Northern Kenya Hussein Sasura said the Borana community was undercounted in the 2009 national census. The intelligence agency attributed the high figures to infiltration of the province by aliens from war-torn Somalia. The country has been without a government since 1991.