Kenya has established 18 diaspora polling centres where the country will undertake a voter registration exercise starting this week ahead of the August 9, 2022, General Election.
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson Wafula Chebukati announced the start of voter registration for Kenyan citizens residing outside the country.
In the diaspora voter registration, which will run from January 21 to February 6, Kenyans living within the East African Community (EAC) －Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda. For the first time, they will be using their identity cards as proof of their citizenship to register for the election, instead of passports.
In a statement on Friday, Chebukati said the centres that were earlier gazetted include the US, Canada, UK, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and South Africa.
Chebukati added that due to travel restrictions and logistical challenges caused by the pandemic, the exercise will not start in the UK (Kenya High Commission in London), Canada (Kenya High Commission in Ottawa, Kenya Honorary Consulate in Toronto, and Kenya Honorary Consulate in Vancouver), and the United Arab Emirates.
In a related electoral matter, the chairperson officially gazetted Tuesday, August 9, 2022, as the date of the election.
This means the political parties will have to submit the Party Membership lists to the Commission on or before Saturday, April 9, 2022.
Political parties are expected to present a presidential candidate for the forthcoming election, to that end, they shall conduct primaries and resolve interparty disputes on or before Friday, April, 22.