Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has revealed around 31,000 names are missing from its Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) system just four days before the election.
IEBCs voter registration director Immaculate Kassait said the missing names include over 20,000 voters who registered more than once, and assured the remaining 11,000 voters not to panic.
“It does not mean these voters will not participate in the elections. We are going to use the manual register to check their details,” Kassait said while speaking at the Bomas of Kenya, the IEBC’s National Elections Centre.
Kassait said voters will still be able to vote provided they did not register twice.
Registering more than once in Kenya is illegal and punishable by a jail term of one year, a fine of KSh100,000 (US$1,300) or both. IEBC chairman Isaak Hassan said many of those who registered more than once had thought they could easily ‘cheat’ the system, warning this will cost them.
This comes after it emerged that many Kenyans were still confused on whether the voting will be electronic or manual. The IEBC has however been conducting civic education to enlighten the voters on what to expect.
On voting day, voter details will be checked on the BVR systems and, in areas with no electricity supply, poll books and laptop computers fitted with power backups will be used.
