Nominted MP Sonia Birdi has urged the Sikh community to register as voters even if the issue of Kenyan citizenship is yet to be resolved.
Speaking during the celebration of 350th Birth Anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh Ji in Nairobi, Sonia called for the support from the Sikh community in the upcoming General Elections and requested those who require National IDs to register as soon as possible so that they can cast their votes.
“We are tackling citizenship issue and I will update you soon. I congratulate the Sikh community on this great celebration and more so I call upon you all to be more united than ever even though we are considered a minority, let’s be stronger,” she said.
Hon Rachel Shebesh who accompanied Sonia during the ceremony urged the community to make Sonia’s voice bigger by registering as voters.
“I am very privileged to be here. Sonia may not be loud, but on the ground in Nairobi she makes us reach those people who need the help most. I want to thank you as a community and urge you to do what you do without hesitation,” said Shebesh.
She urged opposition leaders to stop 'petty' politics and accept the manual voter identification and election result transmission systems since every system must have a backup plan in case of failure.
“The Jubilee government doesn’t mean to use the manual system but the system must be there in case of failure and this is what opposition leaders do not understand,” added Sonia.
Sonia Birdi is the only Kenyan woman lawmaker of Asian origin in the 290-member 11th Parliament.