Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong’o has given his county staff two weeks off to go back to their rural areas and mobilise unregistered residents and have them listed as voters.
The first-term governor threatened that those who will not have come up with a list of new registered voters would not be allowed back in the office on February 6th when the staff are expected back.
“Those who will have failed to carry with them a list of newly registered voters, will not be allowed back in the office because we have already furnished them with those who have attained the age of 18 but are yet to register as voters,” said Prof Nyong’o during the Monday morning county staff meeting at Citam Kisumu.
He said there was need to register more new voters in the county as Kisumu had registered only 5, 529 new voters, against a target of 130, 106, by the seventh day of the mass voter registration drive.
“Work with chiefs, ward and village administrators to register new voters. We have to improve these figures and the IEBC is ready to bring the kits to where you are. By the end of this week, we must see better results,” said the governor.
The county boss also said he will be very reluctant to contest for re-election if he fails to mobilize voters to elect his party leader as the fifth president of Kenya.
There are concerns that various services are likely to be interfered with during this period even as Mr Nyong’o clarified that essential services such as finance, cleaning and fire brigade will continue.
The ODM governor asked his cabinet members, chief officers and all other county staff to travel to their rural areas and ensure that they enlist all unregistered youth as voters.
The directive follows a worrying voter registration apathy in Kisumu County. The county was singled out by Azimio la Umoja presidential flagbearer Raila Odinga as having one of the lowest figures of new voter registrations.
The County Executive Committee members, chief officers, directors of different department and other county staff will work with the chiefs, their assistants, ward administrators and nyumba kumi elders, to trace unregistered residents. BY DAILY NATION