NAIROBI, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's electoral body on Tuesday announced it had registered 1.5 million new voters as biting drought, apathy in some regions and insecurity hamper the exercise that started two weeks ago.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati said a target of 53.9 percent has been achieved since the final phase of mass voter registration exercise kicked off in mid January.
Chebukati told journalists that the voter registration exercise was going smoothly save for minor hiccups occasioned by drought, insecurity and poor infrastructure in remote counties.
"The mass voter registration exercise has been smooth but we are concerned about several challenges that include low turnout in high potential regions, drought in pastoral counties and transfer of voters," said Chebukati.
Kenya's electoral body targets 6 million new voters by Feb. 14 when the final phase of mass voter registration exercise ahead of August 8 polls is terminated.
Chebukati assured Kenyans the electoral agency had put in place adequate legal and technical safeguards to ensure the voter registration exercise is above board.
He revealed the electoral agency is rectifying anomalies like double registration while upgrading biometric voter registration kit to ensure accurate data is available to key stakeholders.
"We have invested in state of the art technology to ensure the August polls are carried out in a transparent and credible manner," Chebukati said.
He added the electoral agency is working on modalities to facilitate prisoners, students and Kenyans in Diaspora participate in the Aug. 8 general elections.
The Kenyan electoral agency has partnered with key stakeholders to ensure the ongoing voter listing concludes without major hitches.
Ezra Chiloba, the CEO of IEBC said Kenya has borrowed international best practices to ensure the voter registration exercise and the August general elections are conducted in an efficient manner to deter a political crisis.
