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Kenya registers 3.78 mln new voters ahead of presidential poll

Xinhua, February 22, 2017 Adjust font size:

Kenya's electoral body on Tuesday announced it had registered 3.78 million new voters in the just concluded voter listing exercise.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati said a target of 62 percent has been achieved since the final phase of mass voter registration exercise kicked off in mid January.

He said the electoral body has so far registered 135 diaspora voters in five African countries of Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Africa.

He added that registration of voters in prisons would begin on Wednesday in 118 prison facilities, targeting 5,952 convicts and 2,246 suspects in remand.

Kenya's major political parties are mobilizing their supporters to participate in the final voter registration exercise ahead of August polls.

Both President Uhuru Kenyatta and his rivals in the opposition crisscrossed the country as they led nationwide campaigns to encourage supporters to acquire to register.

Pundits say the latest voter registration exercise will be the new battle ground for major parties as they prepare for the high octane campaigns ahead of the August 8 general election. Endit