NAIROBI, Feb 1 (NNN-KBC) — Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Monday commenced Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration (ECVR) in United Arab Emirates and Canada.
In UAE the exercise is taking place at the Kenya Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Kenya Consulate in Dubai.
While in Canada the exercise kicks off on Feb 1 at the Kenya High Commission in Ottawa, Kenya Honorary Consulate in Toronto and Kenya Honorary Consulate in Vancouver.
According to a statement by IEBC, this has been made possible, following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Canada.
The Commission will extend registration in Canada and UAE by the number of days lost to ensure Kenyans residing in the two countries are accorded 15 days to register as voters.
During the last 14 days the IEBC managed to register 548,188 new voters out of a target to register 2,987,138 voters in the country.
Further, the Commission received 130,320 requests for transfer and 989 applications for change of particulars.
The Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration on Monday entered the last week of the exercise in all the 1,450 County Assembly Wards (CAWs), institutions of higher learning, Huduma centres countrywide and Diaspora countries, namely United States of America (USA), United Kingdom (UK), Qatar, Germany, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.
In Kenya, the exercise will end on Feb 6, while in the Diaspora it will close on the 15th day of the commencement date of the respective country.
The commission says, voter registration exercise for citizens residing outside the Country (Diaspora) has so far enrolled 1,054 new voters, as well as 1,072 requests for transfer and 806 applications for change of particulars. — NNN-KBC