Why Mt Kenya is falling behind in voter registration - Moses Kuria

A screengrab of former Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria speaking on Citizen TV,  Wednesday night.

Former Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has raised concern over low voter registration numbers in the Mt Kenya region, blaming the trend on the absence of a strong presidential contender ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV on Wednesday night, Kuria said the region is trailing behind others in the ongoing mass registration exercise by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

“Why is Mt. Kenya underperforming in this voter registration race? It is because they have no horse in the race. When we have a horse in the race, people tend to be more motivated,” he said.

Kuria revealed that data from the ongoing Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration (ECVR) shows the region is falling short by about 20 per cent compared to national expectations.

“The numbers are not looking good. From a voter registration perspective, I have the figures because IEBC uses them weekly, and I’ve been tracking them closely. Mt Kenya region… is underperforming compared to the rest of the country by about 20 per cent based on expectations,” he said.

According to the IEBC, a total of 1,370,930 new voters had been registered between March 30 and April 16.

Despite the current slowdown, projections indicate the Mt Kenya region could still emerge as a voting powerhouse in 2027, with more than 7 million voters—over 25 per cent of the national voter roll. If targets are met, the number could rise to about 7.4 million, contributing to a national target of 28 million voters.

In the last election, the region’s 10 counties had about 5.8 million registered voters and played a key role in President William Ruto’s victory.

However, Kuria, who is seeking to reclaim the Gatundu South parliamentary seat on a UDA ticket, said opposition-leaning regions are currently recording higher registration numbers.

“In fact, if you look at what they call their ‘cousin’ territories, which largely comprise Mt Kenya, Nairobi, Eastern and Kisii, the 14 counties had an average voter registration target achievement of 66 per cent as of week three,” he said.

He singled out Nakuru as a critical battleground county, citing its diverse voter base.

“Nakuru is extremely cosmopolitan; about 40 per cent of the county’s voters are non-Mt. Kenya voters. That alone makes it a real battleground,” he added.

Kuria also pointed to past elections, recalling heightened voter enthusiasm when former President Uhuru Kenyatta was on the ballot.

“In 2017, I was in charge of voter registration in the Mt Kenya region… People were motivated because they believed they had something at stake,” he said.