Political leaders in the Western region have drawn criticism over their perceived role in mobilising residents to register as voters in the ongoing Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration.

IEBC commissioner Alutalala Mukhwana said some politicians appeared to be focusing more on voter transfers rather than encouraging new registrations.

He spoke during a stakeholders’ forum at Bishop Nicholas Stam Pastoral Centre.

“I’m a bit disappointed that our politicians have not shown willingness to help us in mobilising for voter registration. Our officers are more involved in voter transfer instead of registering new voters. You’re not helping us,” Mukhwana said.

He said Kenyans trust and follow politicians, and therefore they could leverage that influence to mobilise citizens to register, noting that politicians are ultimately the main beneficiaries of voter numbers.

Mukhwana said voter listing is inherently a political process, adding that there are suggestions some politicians may not favour new voters because “they will spoil the mathematics”.

“They already have their bag of voters, and those are the ones they want to vote. Anyone new, they don’t know whom they will vote for,” he added.

Mukhwana said voters who are transferred from their home areas can at times contribute to tensions at polling stations because communities may be less familiar with them.

He warned that the commission may not meet its projected targets if stakeholders do not adopt more innovative mobilisation strategies.

Mukhwana said Kakamega is currently leading in voter registration in the Western region and ranks third nationally.

He said voter registration is a political process and that post-election negotiations often depend on the number of votes a region delivers.

The commissioner also said Kenyans have trust issues with the IEBC, not necessarily because of the current commissioners but due to institutional legacy challenges.

“In other words, we’re paying for the sins of our past. Please be kind to us. There is nothing we have done wrong. It is something we inherited,” he said.

Western regional commissioner Irungu Macharia said National Government Administrative Officers (NGAOs) will help mobilise uncollected national identity cards from the Registrar of Persons’ offices and distribute them through chiefs to applicants to enable voter registration.

He said county security committees will meet elected leaders and stakeholders to discuss voter registration, emerging security concerns and issues around funeral-related highway collections.

“The government will deal firmly with goons who are causing mayhem at public functions in the region. Goons are criminal gangs and will not be tolerated,” he said.