A recent report on voter registration shows a close contest between Jubilee and Cord/Nasa strongholds, with each side having a significant presence in about 20 counties. Seven counties are considered battlegrounds that could swing either way.
According to preliminary registration totals released by the IEBC, 3,782,089 new voters were listed against a target of at least six million in the month-long exercise that ended on February 19. The figures indicate that Rift Valley, Eastern, and Central regions account for more than half of the now 19 million registered voters.
Political scientist Mutahi Ngunyi noted that the additional voters listed during the Mass Voter Registration (MVR) have not significantly changed the electoral landscape, with Jubilee and Cord sharing the numbers relatively equally. IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati stated that the new voters' figures represent 62% of the commission's upper target of six million but 95% of the four million lower target.
The counties with the highest number of new applications were Kajiado, Mandera, Narok, Garissa, Kirinyaga, Kiambu, Wajir, Murang'a, Nakuru, and West Pokot. Nairobi led in counties with over 100,000 new applications, followed by Kiambu and Nakuru.
Chebukati also announced that registration continues at the constituency level, and the voter register will be closed on March 7, despite a court order directing an extension to May 17. The commission will process all the data received from the field to its central database for further processing and prepare the draft register for public inspection and verification starting May 10.
Regarding nominations, Chebukati stated that some parties are already submitting relevant documents, with the submission of party nomination rules starting on February 20 and running until March 2.
The recovered account cited reporting by Mediamax.
