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Voter Registration Scheduled For February

Electronic VotingThe national voter registration is set to begin in February. Preparations for fresh voter registration are in top gear as the Interim electoral commission moves ahead of a national referendum on a new constitution. The commission’s chairman Issack Hassan opened a five –day training workshop for the newly appointed election officials.

The officials will be trained on the process of national registration of voters and how to conduct civic education in order to ensure that Kenyans register in large numbers. They will then train their juniors countrywide.The IIEC expects the registration to run for four months before the referendum on the new constitution is held.The registration also involves a pilot electronic voter registration in anticipation of such a system in the future.

As part of the programme some voters will register electronically from a selected number of constituencies.

Electronic voter registration comprises, the exporting of data from a central database voter registration system onto a portable computer located at a polling station, so that when the name of a voter is typed into a searchable field displayed on a portable computer, additional information associated with the name of the person, is made available and making a decision regarding the person associated with the name. The information displayed on the computer screen shows the status of a prospective voter as registered to vote or not.

Examples of countries where electronic registration has been successful is the United States, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

This system will pave the way for electronic voting in Kenya in the near future. The new voter registration process was occasioned by the disbandment of the former ECK commission which was blamed for bungling the 2007 general election.

By Millicent Otieno