The national voter registration process MUST be accorded more time than the scheduled 45 days. Period.
Considering that voting is the most powerful tool of democracy worldwide at the disposal masses, used individually for global effect, it is worrying the casualness with which the voter registration is being handled by the process manager in Kenya. This takes even greater significance in Kenya where the voter register is being constructed afresh and there is the historic referendum on the constitution pending.
The Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) has indicated that there are 21 million eligible voters in Kenya as at now, but that the Commission will only be able to register at most 10 million voters, below half of the eligible voters in the ongoing exercise because of time constraints! The Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga was reported to have said that the Commission should only seek for extension of the period if they do not meet their target! In this case 10 million. Then one is forced to asked whose target should be the remaining majority of 11 million? Why should the government intentionally set obstacles for a majority of Kenyans to ensure that they are disenfranchised?
What should be done instead is change the manner of handling public affairs placing the superiority of the people first.
The Constitutional Review Act should be amended immediately so as to allow the IIEC sufficient time to do its planning and carry out its mandate rather than wait for last minute rush. This will have the additional advantage of allowing the Committee of Experts (CoE) more time to conduct civic education as per their mandate and reach more people that will ensure more informed voting during the important constitution review referendum. The CoE has only 30 days to carry out this mandate.
Secondly, the IIEC must up its act in publicity of popularizing and mobilizing the public to participate in the voter registration exercise. A quick spot check shows that the IIEC has done dismally in giving this exercise visibility compared to the work that the now defunct ECK use to do on the same! Yet IIEC has more challenges than the ECK. The do not enjoy the benefit of building on an existing voter register. Most people are traumatized and view scramble for votes as the reason why Post Election Violence of 2007/8 occurred and thus do not wish to provide more reason by way of attractive large numbers for the political class by registering. There is a feeling around the country that referendum will be a no contest vote and thus no need to register. All these reasons require more concerted effort and time from IIEC to turn around and build confidence of Kenyans in the electoral system once again.
Third, the concept of voter education must be expanded by both the IIEC and Non State Actors (NSAs) to include more than just mobilizing and showing people how to cast a vote. Voter education must include educating the masses on the importance of registering as a voter and the not just electioneering. By the way it is very telling that significantly Civil Society Organisation are not keen on mobilizing people to register as voters but will overwhelmingly flood the scene with ‘voter education’ after the process is closed and voting in the referendum is more eminent!
Fourth. The people of Kenya are the fourth and most important organ of the constitutional review process. The referendum is the final stage of this process and all Kenyans should structurally be accorded a chance to participate by being allocated enough time for all those eligible to register as voters to do so. The government MUST not incite people to fight and or scramble for their rights including being voters by denying them sufficient time!
It is a horribly mediocre threshold for the government to intentionally put in place sufficient time to register less than a half of the eligible voters even with a very important national undertaking in the name of a referendum pending.
Parliament must not wait to either see failure in the face or prolific public anger to the needed good of extending the voter registration by at least 1 month well in advance and one of the ways on enhancing democracy in Kenya.
