Over 80,000 ID cards are lying uncollected at registration bureaus in Kisumu County, The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Regional Elections Coordinator in charge of Nyanza North George Oyugi has said.
Oyugi said a stakeholders forum held last week between the IEBC and the registration bureau revealed that most people whose IDs have been processed are yet to collect them while those seeking the document had theirs delayed before being processed.
According to Mr Oyugi, the situation may see the IEBC fail to reach its target for the mass voter registration which is expected to come to a close on March 15.
“We have had instances of ladies who applied for the document from their paternal homes, but have since been married in far places hence have failed to get back to where they applied to collect the documents,” he said.
Kisumu is expected to register over 110,000 new voters at the close of the mass voter registration, and Oyugi has expressed fears that the huge number of uncollected IDs may impact negatively on the target.
Speaking during a media workshop which brought together journalists from Nyanza and Western regions, Oyugi tasked the media to sensitise the public so that they collect their IDs.
“The media has a critical role in the entire electoral process, starting with voter listing up to the actual election, hence you (journalists) need to come out and let the people know the importance of participating in the exercise,” he said.
He added: “Some people also have the old generation IDs which have since been degazetted and they need to get the new ones so as to be able to participate in the elections.”