Low voter turnout marks elections in Mt Kenya

A sluggish and low voter turnout characterised the General Election in the Mt Kenya region.

In Nyeri County, turnout could be the lowest compared with the past two elections.

IEBC Commissioner Francis Wanderi put the number at around noon at between 16 percent and 30 percent, describing it as "very poor".

The county has 965 polling centres spread across its six constituencies, with a total of 481,632 registered voters.

Mr Wanderi noted that in the random tours he made to polling centres, he found Muringato and Nyeri health centres as the only areas where turnout had hit 50 percent. 

The bad weather was blamed for confining many to their houses, but turnout did not change much after conditions improved in the afternoon.

Many young people in Mt Kenya kept away from voting, some opting to hide in bars, drinking.

While in the 2007, 2013 and 2017 elections police ordered area bars and hotels closed to help candidates push up turnout, this year, there were no such restrictions.

"We are not interested in ordering businesses closed. It is not a must that people vote. The law does not give us a reason to force people to vote," said a senior security officer on the Central Region Security Committee.

In past elections that had Mt Kenya presidential contenders as front-runners, security personnel were mobilised to force people to first vote before they could go to bars.

In parts of Murang'a, Nation.Africa witnessed scores of youths holed up in bars since the morning, pretending that they had voted by marking the nail of their little finger with mark pens.

"We are voting so that I gain in what? If one wanted my vote, he or she would have paid me, facilitated me and got me back here and bought me alcohol. Voting is for the paid. None paid me," said one youth in a Maragua town bar.

Wainaina Ndungu, an election observer and activist, said he had toured polling stations in Nyandarua, Laikipia, Nyeri and Murang’a counties and found a majority of voters were women, middle-aged and older people, with many young people keeping away from the polls.

“Some of the youths I interviewed claimed they were waiting for the queues to reduce,” Mr Ndung’u said in Nyeri town.
Except for Kiems gadgets not reading the fingerprints of some voters and the elderly failing to get assistance to find their polling centres, he said, “there’s not much cause for alarm”.

“The problem is the numbers compared to other years. It will be hard to get to 70 percent turnout,” Mr Wainaina said.
Kenya Kwanza principal Mwangi Kiunjuri expressed worry about voter apathy in Laikipia County, linking it to the fact that Mt Kenya region did not have a strong presidential candidate. 

"Sometimes people turn out to vote for one of their own," The Service Party (TSP) leader said.  

"Generally, the turnout is not good this time round compared to the 2017 General Election. We are still hoping that the number will improve before the end of the day."

Mr Kiunjuri, who is vying for the Laikipia East parliamentary seat, appealed to residents from the region to turn up and vote for their leader. 

The former Agriculture CS had served as MP for three consecutive terms.

Incumbent MP Amin Deddy said a majority of Laikipia residents are demoralised due to a persistent drought and a high cost of living.

He exuded confidence that he would retain the seat.

As the gates to polling stations opened in Nyeri Town constituency, a multitude of people streamed in ready to cast their ballots.  

At first, voters, especially the elderly, struggled to identify the stream where they were to queue, delaying voting as deputy presiding officers took time to get the people to line up in alphabetical order. 

There were network hitches at some polling stations as the Kiems kits were not reading some voters’ fingerprints. 

According to a presiding officer at the Nyamachaki Primary School polling station, chilly weather caused the fingers of some voters to become numb while others had “disparities” in theirs because of hard labour. 

"We have had an issue with the fingerprints but very few. Most people had disparities with their fingerprints and also the weather. But we advised them to rub their hands together to warm them up and afterwards it worked," said Ms Edith 

But as the day progressed, the numbers reduced by the minute as voter turnout remained negligible compared with the 2017 elections. 
By noon, most polling stations were empty. 

"The voter turnout is low. In this single stream, we have only covered 37 per cent of the 500 voters we expected here. But we remain positive that people will turn out," she added

At Nyaribo Primary, voters had to wait for about 10 minutes as the Kiems kits had network hitches in three of the streams at the station. 
Presiding officer Leonolla Muthoni said the issue was swiftly addressed by IEBC technicians.  

"Everything is swift and moving smoothly so far," she said.

Mr James Maina, a voter, said: "The process is smooth but it is taking long."

By 1pm, the Rukira Vocational Training Centre station in Othaya had only a handful of voters in the queue.

Despite this, an IEBC official, who sought anonymity as he was not allowed to speak to the media, said the station had a continuous flow of voters.

The station recorded an eventual turnout of 45 percent.

“Most of the voters are elderly, with the youths constituting only a small portion,” he said.

Speaking to the Nation after voting at Gichichie Primary, Othaya MP Gichuki Mugambi raised concerns that some locals decided to wait for politicians outside the polling station instead of voting.

He accused some candidates of engaging in voter bribery.

“So far we have had complaints from three polling stations where one of our opponents is giving out money and this is posing a challenge because most of the people are lined at the roads waiting to be given money so as to go and vote. We hope that security agents are going to assist us in eliminating this,” he said.

Othaya Chama Cha Kazi MP candidate Patrick Ngunjiri said voter turnout in the county was generally low.

“The voter apathy is due to the fact that there is no presidential candidate from this region during this year’s elections,” he said.

In Kirinyaga, low voter turnout marred the elections.

At Rukenya and Thumaita primary schools, only few voters were seen casting their votes for most of the morning.

Queues were shorter, indicating voter apathy in the region.

Former Kirinyaga Governor Joseph Ndathi, who is seeking to recapture his seat under The Service Party (TSP), expressed concerns that few residents were voting.

"Unlike in 2013 and 2017, this time the queues are shorter," said Mr Ndathi after casting his vote at Rukenya.

He appealed to residents to turn out in large numbers and elect leaders of their choice.

"It is still early in the morning and we expect more people to visit polling stations to vote. I urge residents not to stay at home. They should agree to exercise their democratic right so that they will not regret [not voting]," he said.

Mr Ndathi exuded confidence that he would triumph. But he promised to concede defeat if he loses in a fair political game.

He told his rivals to also accept defeat if he defeats them.

In Igembe Central, Meru County, voting was delayed at the Machungulu and Nkanga polling stations due to a mix-up of ballot boxes.

Igembe Central returning officer Paul Mbugua said presiding officers at the affected stations had picked up two MCA ballot boxes, leaving behind the parliamentary box.

"The matter was addressed immediately after it was discovered. Voting is going on as planned," Mr Ndungu said.

But Igembe Central MP Kubai Iringo said the incident had delayed voting to 9am.

Mr Iringo also cited voter apathy, which he attributed to bribery.

"We have noticed that many young people are hanging around polling stations without voting. Some candidates have been telling people not to vote until they are given money. We want this matter investigated," Mr Iringo said.

Meru Deputy Governor Titus Ntuchiu, who cast his vote at Mwithanga Primary School, cited harassment of agents in Tigania West and Imenti North as the only incidents reported in the morning.

"Voting is going on well. There are no major issues so far and we laud the IEBC for preparing well," Mr Ntuchiu said.

Governor candidate Kawira Mwangaza also lauded the election process, only citing a few incidents of delays in allowing agents into polling stations.

"We are also pursuing an incident where an agent misled an assisted voter. However, all is well," Ms Mwangaza said.

Speaking at Nchuui Primary after casting his ballot, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya also said the election had no major issues.

"We have, however, received reports of some voters finding their details in Kisumu yet they registered in Meru. IEBC has tried its best but there are issues to be addressed," Mr Munya said.

He faulted the electoral commission over the postponement of the Mombasa and Kakamega governor elections, saying it may affect the turnout.

In Tharaka Nithi, Governor Muthomi Njuki (UDA) and his Jubilee counterpart, Prof Erastus Njoka, disagreed over claims that some people were buying identification cards and bribing voters.

Speaking at Mukuthuku Primary, Prof Njoka claimed that some people had been spotted buying identification cards in his stronghold, claims that Mr Njuki dismissed as rumours.

“Some people have been found bribing voters outside Chuka Township Primary School, Kibumbu and Kaarani polling stations and we have already reported the incidents to the necessary authority,” Prof Njoka said.

Mr Njuki, who spoke at Rubate Primary, said the claims were unfounded and meant to cause unnecessary tension.

At Giampampo Primary in Maara constituency, Kiems kits malfunctioned for several hours.

BY IRENE MUGO, MWANGI MUIRURI, MERCY MWENDE, JAMES MURIMI, DAVID MUCHUI, MWORIA MUCHINA, ALEX NJERU and GEORGE MUNENE