Jubilee Party targets 4.9m new voters in strongholds
Jubilee Party is targeting to register 4.9 million new voters in its strongholds of central Kenya and Rift Valley to boost its chances of retaining the presidency in August elections.
Deputy President William Ruto on Tuesday kick-started the campaign to register more voters when he met hundreds of Jubilee leaders and aspirants from the Kalenjin community residing in 11 counties across the country at his Karen office.
Mr Ruto, who a day ago was involved in a supremacy battle with Kanu chairman and Baringo Senator Gideon Moi, informed the meeting that there were more than 1.6 million people who should be mobilised to register in the Jubilee strongholds in Rift Valley.
He tasked the leaders, who included Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter, to mobilise their people to register in droves when the registration exercise by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission starts next Monday.
“For us to win in August, we must have numbers and this can only be achieved by asking the people who are eligible to vote to register in large numbers. As you campaign in your respective wards, constituencies or counties, you must mobilise the people to register so as to fully participate in the elections,” he said.
RE-ELECTION STRATEGY
Soin/Sigowett MP Justice Kemei told the meeting that more than 300,000 people in Rift Valley had no identification cards and yet they were eligible voters.
MPs, governors, MCAs and aspirants for various seats in Baringo, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Trans Nzoia, Bungoma, Uasin Gishu, Nandi, Nakuru, Bomet, Kericho and Narok counties attended the meeting.
At the same time, Devolution Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri revealed that the Jubilee leadership in Mt Kenya was targeting to register at least 3.3 million fresh voters to boost the chances of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election.
“In Mt Kenya region alone, we have at least 3.3 million people with IDs but they don’t have voters’ cards. These are the people who we will mobilise to take voters cards starting next week,” he said on phone.
Mr Kiunjuri said that elections were about numbers and challenged the opposition to mobilise people in their areas to register enmass instead of planning to stage demonstrations.
