Panic over missing names in voter list

By Osinde Obare

WEST POKOT; KENYA: Mr Titus Lopuriang is a bitter man. He is among 1,500 people in West Pokot County whose names are missing from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) register.

“I have visited the polling station thrice and my name is not appearing anywhere. I’m bitter that despite registering as a voter my name is missing,” complained Lopuriang.

Panic has gripped residents of West Pokot County after more than 1,500 voters found their names missing from the IEBC registers in the ongoing voter inspection exercise.

Furious residents jammed the Makutano polling station and demanded an explanation from the IEBC over the anomaly.

Leaders in the county led by the Minister of Information and Communications Mr Samwel Poghisio called on the IEBC Chairman Issack Hassan to intervene urgently and ensure that all the affected voters were registered to enable them participate in the coming polls.

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“This is a very serious omission by the electoral agency and we demand an explanation,” Poghisio said in Makutano township.

The Kapenguria IEBC Elections Coordinator Paul Chemuttut confirmed that the names of 1,100 voters who were registered at Makutano were missing due to what he described as “technological challenges” in the use of the new BVR kits.

On Sunday, the IEBC official said the commission was working to ensure the affected voters were registered.