Wajir West MP Ahmed Kolosh has called for the suspension of voter registration in North Eastern Kenya.
The lawmaker claimed that the area is experiencing drought and that the electoral agency should wait until it rains or risk locking out most people who do not have voting cards.
Additionally, he cited reasons, claiming that it will be difficult for people to travel long distances for registration as the area has been hit by drought.
According to Kolosh, "The reason is we are in the season of voter registration. We know we are in a serious drought, and we will ask our people to register to vote in the coming despite the situation year.
"But we want to urge The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to suspend the exercise of voter registration forthwith so that this exercise,especially for Northern Kenya,can resume when the rains come," he added.
"It will be very difficult for someone fighting for his or her livelihoods to travel hundreds and thousands of kilometres to register as voters," Kolosh further remarked.
IEBC kicked off a mass registration on October 4, 2021, targeting eligible non-registered voters in readiness for the 2022 General Election.
The electoral body targets 6 to 7 million new registered voters with simultaneous mass registration of people in the diaspora set to begin in December.
In addition to that,legal reforms have been implemented to review existing electoral laws to ensure adequate preparation before the following year's General Election to ensure credibility in results.
As of 2017,117,433 people in northeastern Kenya had registered as voters, according to the poll agency.
Wajir County comprises Eldas, Tarbaj, Wajir East, Wajir North, Wajir West, and Wajir South constituencies.
