Rarieda Member of Parliament Nicholas Gumbo has promised any student aged above 18 years in his constituency Sh300 if they apply for a national ID.
The legislator said that the move is aimed at registering more voters ahead of the 2017 general elections in the area, Citizen Tv reports.
Adding that the boost in voters would raise the chances of CORD leader Raila Odinga winning the elections, Gumbo said they are targeting more youths in the initiative.
Although it is mandatory that all Kenyans aged 18 and above be issued with National Identity Cards, reports indicate that many do not have the IDs.
Some youth have complained that the IDs take too long to be processed with some waiting years in order to get their IDs.
In the recent past, leaders have been on the forefront in urging the youth to apply for the IDs. This has been seen as a strategy in getting more votes during the general election.
In a report by Citizen Digital last month, Lamu leaders urged the government to lift the suspension on the issuance of Identification cards to youth in Lamu.
The suspension on the issuance of Identification cards in Lamu County was imposed last year following terror attacks in Mpeketoni.
The leaders said that the youth from the region were missing out on many opportunities due to lack of IDs.
The Nation also reported of the same request by leaders from Garissa County.
Speaking during Iftar dinner hosted by Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar at Fort Jesus on Tuesday night, Raila Odinga urged area youth to apply for IDs before the general election.
“In 2013, the commission sought to register 1.4 million voters (at the Coast). It got 1.1 million. It is unfortunate that only 800,000 turned out to vote. Please, if you want us to be safe, you must register and vote. Failure to do so gives our opponents a chance to claim tyranny of numbers,” he said.
According to The Star, Odinga’s daughter, Rosemary Odinga who is said to be eyeing the Kibera Parliamentary seat come 2017, also recently urged youth from the area to apply for IDs in large numbers.
