Speaking in Mombasa while he commissioned the Sh10 billion Kipevu III thermal power plant, the president said it was only by taking part in the electoral process that citizens will influence the political and economic agenda of the counties and the country at large.
MOMBASA, Kenya, Dec 4 – President Mwai Kibaki has urged Kenyans to make haste and register as voters before the December 18 deadline.
“If you don’t register as a voter then how will you participate in choosing the right leaders to govern this nation?” the President asked.
He noted that it will be foolhardy for any individual to expect good leadership and yet they don’t participate in the registration exercise.
The president also impressed on Kenyans to be peaceful and learn to tolerate different shades of opinion during the campaign period saying peace and stability remained the foundation of a prosperous Kenya.
Tuesday marked a key dateline in the preparations for the March 4 General Election, as it was the deadline for parties to lodge any pre-election coalitions with the Registrar of Political Parties.
On Monday evening, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) announced that close to six million people have been registered as voters in two weeks since the exercise began.
A statement from the commission said the number represented 33 percent of the estimated Kenyan voting population.
Nairobi County leads with the most number of those registered at 632, 145 out of an estimated voting population of about 1.5 million people followed by neighboring Kiambu County with 329, 340 people registered out of 756,773 estimated eligible voters.
Nakuru County comes in third place with 307,687 registered voters.
Counties in Northern Kenya still have low numbers with Marsabit recording the lowest numbers at 14,344; Lamu County with 22,272 out of an estimated voting population of 47,337 while Samburu County has so far registered 34,980.
Wajir County has 56,728 registered while Mandera has achieved 57,534 voters in two weeks.
Other counties with steadily rising numbers include Kakamega with 266,155, Meru which had registered 202,388, Bungoma County with184, 479, Kisii with190,259, Busia, 123, 615 and Siaya County with 178,243.
Tharaka Nithi County has registered 68,889, Baringo 81,768, Machakos 125, 685, Makueni 108,365, Kitui 115,669, Laikipia 65,844, Garissa 54, 838 and Vihiga 91,600.
At the coast Kilifi has recorded 126, 285, Tana River 32,962 while Mombasa has 146,876 out of an estimated half a million voters.
Out of the 22 million eligible voters, IEBC aims to register at least 18 million Kenyans by the end of the 30 day period on December 18.
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