A woman votes during the IEBC mock elections in Kajiado North constituency on March 4, 2013. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
IEBC says about 6.6 million Kenyans who were eligible to vote in the March 4 General Election were barred by lack of Identity Cards.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) wants Parliament to enact legislation that will allow advance voting for people working in essential services.
The electoral commission said an estimated 6.6 million Kenyans who were eligible to vote in the March 4 General Election were barred by lack of Identity Cards.
“Lack of identity cards among the youth also presented challenges to the commission. It is worth noting that the number of Kenyans who did not exercise their franchise in the 2013 General Elections is estimated at 6.6 million. This means that one in every three Kenyans eligible to vote did not participate,” the commission said.
The electoral commission also wants a review of legislation in order to stagger the elections of president, governor, National Assembly member, senator, women representatives and county assembly members.
The commission called on Parliament to ensure that the national registration bureau is reformed to ensure enhanced registration of persons.
In its unaudited annual report for 2012/13 financial year tabled in Parliament Tuesday by Majority Leader Aden Duale, the commission called for the enactment of a law limiting the time that changes should be made in existing Acts of Parliament prior to a general election.
The document, which was prepared by IEBC chief executive officer James Oswago, also advocates for a review of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act, 2005 to remove the cumbersome, rigid and long procurement process.
“There is need for full implementation of the Consolidated Fund Act, 2012 to ensure timely and adequate funding of electoral activities,” Mr Oswago says in the report.
In advancing the need to stagger future elections, the commission said political party nominations logistics and operations had a ripple effect on the IEBC’s operations in regard to the clearance of candidates.
The commission said enactment of legislation and amendments of electoral related laws too near to the polls also posed challenges to the March 4, 2013 General Elections.
“Multiple elections posed logistical and operational challenges,” the report says.
The IEBC said there was serious disenfranchisement of many Kenyans working on essential duties such as security on poling day.
“The election experiences and challenges provided lessons learned that the commission will use to focus on longer-term priorities and improvements for future elections,” the report says.
The commission said despite the numerous challenges it faced during the polls, it delivered an election that reflected the will of Kenyans.
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
