January 21, 2022, marked the beginning of voter registration for the close to three million Kenyans domiciled abroad.
Of this estimated number, only those in 12 countries will have a chance to vote in the August 9 presidential election.
But even in these countries, the geographical distribution of voter registration centres is uneven and is a hindrance to equal access to the right to vote for Kenya’s diaspora. Therefore, as the diaspora voter registration continues, many questions remain.
One of the most pressing challenges of the current voter registration is the reality that Kenyans who are resident in the diaspora on August 9 will only be able to vote for the President of the Republic.
They will not be able to vote for their governor, MP, member of the county assembly, woman representative in the National Assembly or senator.
Fundamentally, the general election will have two classes of Kenyan voters: Those enfranchised and in Kenya on election day and the disenfranchised diaspora minority abroad.
The latter will be victimised by not having the full menu of electoral choices to vote for—simply for the fact that they were forced to leave Kenya to seek greener pastures abroad.
This is a major question of fairness and equality for all Kenyans the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and Parliament ought to address.
Secondly, questions remain about the fairness of the location of voter registration centres. In the United States, for example, there are only three of them. These are Kenya’s Embassy in Washington, D. C. and the Kenyan consulates in New York and Los Angeles.
Little has been done to expand the centres since ratification of the Constitution in 2010 despite the geographical vastness of America.
The state of Texas, for instance, is the size of the whole of Kenya yet it has no voter registration centre.
The thousands of Kenyans in Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio will have to cross multiple time zones and incur huge financial costs while travelling in order to access consular registration services in Los Angeles, Washington, D. C. or New York. Similar fate befalls those in Kansas, Seattle Washington, Delaware, Boston and Atlanta.
Engage with diaspora
It is not fair or right to subject Kenyans in these areas to the hardship of enjoying a fundamental citizenship right. This is a matter the IEBC will find itself having to answer in court as questions about equal access to the vote are raised in the halls of justice.
The IEBC should openly engage with the diaspora in areas of huge concentration of diasporans, such as the US and Europe, to affect a mapping strategy that highlights progress towards reaching as many Kenyans as possible in clearly defined timelines.
While the IEBC rightly attempts to keep its cost-per-voter figure low, it should also balance the economic proclivities of cost with the legal prerogatives of rights in effecting diaspora voting. Encrypted voter technology is one such measure that is used in developing nations like Peru, India, Botswana and Namibia.
There is no reason why Kenyan legislators cannot countenance the use of encrypted electronic technology to advance voter registration and election day voting. Besides, encrypted electronic technology affords the IEBC the opportunity to cut down on costs while enfranchising millions of Kenyans abroad who want to actualise their birthright to vote for the leaders of their choice.
Also, due thought ought to be given to creating electoral seats in Parliament and county assemblies for the diaspora as another tool to bringing this key constituency that contributes more than $3 billion (Sh300 billion) to the economy yearly to the centre of national development planning and law making.
There is also the pressing question of allowing diasporans to vote for their senator, governor, MP, Woman Rep and MCA. As the February 4 conclusion of the diaspora voter registration draws near, many questions remain that must be answered the soonest possible. BY DAILY NATION