IEBC suspends voter registration in Ol Kalou constituency

A Voter gets registered at Kurus town in Kirinyaga County.[Jane Mugambi, Standard]

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has suspended the Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration (ECVR) exercise in Ol Kalou Constituency following the death of area Member of Parliament David Kiaraho.

The commission indicated that the move is in line with legal and procedural requirements governing electoral processes in constituencies where a parliamentary seat has fallen vacant.

The suspension, according to Nyandarua County IEBC commissioner Ann Nderitu, will remain in effect until the necessary steps toward a by-election are completed.

"This includes the formal declaration of the vacancy by the Speaker of the National Assembly, after which the IEBC will gazette the by-election date. Voter registration in the constituency will resume only after the by-election, running for a period of 30 days," she noted.

In Nyandarua County, Ms Nderitu convened a stakeholder engagement forum bringing together representatives from multiple sectors, including the National Registration Bureau, the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties, county officials, and community groups. The meeting assessed the progress of the ongoing voter registration drive and explored strategies to improve uptake.

Data presented at the forum showed that registration in Nyandarua has been slow, with only 3,454 new voters recorded within the first 10 days of the exercise. Leaders and stakeholders attributed the low turnout partly to delays in the issuance and collection of national identity cards.

Nyandarua County Commissioner Abdirisack Jaldesa said more than 8,000 uncollected IDs remain at national government administrative offices across the county. "Plans are underway to decentralise their distribution by moving them closer to residents through Deputy County Commissioners, Assistant County Commissioners, and chiefs’ offices to ease access and support voter registration," he noted.

Jaldesa dismissed concerns about a shortage of identity cards, maintaining that the issue lies in collection rather than availability.