Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission want the government to hasten waiving of fee for replacement of identification cards of KES 300 to allow many locals in North Coast region to register for voters cards.
The electoral body has expressed fear that if the replacement fee is not removed then thousands of voters with the old identity cards will be locked out of the general elections.
According to IEBC North Coast region Anastasia Mutua, many locals and especially elderly people still use the older Identification cards of 1970 because they have not been bale to afford replacing them.
She said according to locals living in the area, the replacement fee is their major obstacle hindering them from replacing their Identification cards thought they are not used nowadays.
“We want these people to participate in the coming general election and so the government should remove the replacement fee,” she noted.
Mutua went further to add that lack of knowledge by many locals living in rural areas, as well as a high level of poverty has led to the problem which she added the government can step in to help them by waiving the replacement fee.
However the IEBC official urged the government to speed up the process of issuing identification cards to Kenyans in order to avoid locking out many youths from participating in the coming general election.
She urged youths and locals who have not registered for identification cards to do so early in advance in order to be able to choose leaders of their choice during election.
Mutua made the remarks at Karimboni village in Magarini district after distributing relief food to floods victims in the area.
Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyNews24 have been independently written by members of News24's community. The views of users published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.