(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Ayeni Olusegun |
The Peninsula
Kenyans in Qatar can now register to participate in the country's upcoming presidential elections set for August 9 this year.
The exercise started yesterday and will run for 15 days until February 6 at the Kenyan embassy in Doha.
Speaking to the media at the Kenyan embassy in Qatar, Ambassador Washington A. Oloo, Charge d'Affaires at the embassy of Kenya, said,“We are indeed very grateful for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission of Kenya (IEBC) to have considered Qatar as one of those few stations where Kenyan diaspora can be registered to participate in the upcoming presidential elections.”
Kenyans living in Qatar join six other countries in this year's exercise, including the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States of America (USA), South Sudan, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Germany. The exercise had earlier been done in Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, and South Africa ahead of the 2017 polls.
Ambassador Oloo stressed that the exercise is an excellent opportunity for Kenyans to be part of governance.
“This is an excellent opportunity for all Kenyans in Qatar to come and exercise their civil duties and democratic rights and participate in the governance of their country by electing their preferred presidential candidate. I implore Kenyans to come in great numbers to avail this opportunity provided by the IEBC,” he added.
Ambassador Oloo said the Embassy is trying to liaise with companies that employ Kenyans to make special arrangements to ease their registration process and ensure a smooth exercise.
The exercise will run from 8am to 5pm, seven days a week.
Meanwhile, the IEBC Acting Commission Secretary and CEO Marjan Hussein Marjan said the exercise would register new voters and transfer polling stations to suit voters' needs.
“We are here in Qatar to register eligible citizens to enable them to participate in the elections coming up in August.
What we are currently doing here is enhanced continuous voter registration for a certain period of time to enable the diaspora to register and participate in the election. In this exercise, we are not only registering new voters but also those who have registered in Kenya and want to transfer their polling station here (Doha) and vice versa,” Marjan said.
Kenyans living in Qatar, who have previously registered, will need to show the documents used during the registration process, either with the national ID card or their Kenyan Passport, including holders of the dark blue passports.
According to Marjan, the registration process will take approximately five minutes and hopes to cover all eligible Kenyan voters in the country.
The IEBC also disclosed that it would conduct a verification exercise to ensure accurate biometrics and profile capture after the registration process.
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