Former Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has claimed that the Mt Kenya region is trailing behind the rest of the country in the ongoing Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) voter registration exercise, blaming the trend on perceived political exclusion ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Speaking on Citizen TV’s JKLive show on Wednesday night, Kuria said voter registration figures from the region were falling short of national expectations by about 20 per cent.
The outspoken politician argued that unlike in previous election cycles, residents of the region currently feel politically unrepresented.
“The numbers are not looking good. From a voter registration perspective, I have the figures because IEBC is using them every week and I’ve been tracking them closely. Mt Kenya region — I’m talking about nine to ten counties — is underperforming compared to the rest of the country by about 20 per cent based on expectations,” Kuria said.
He added that while the national voter registration target stands at 2.37 million voters, only 1.3 million had been registered by last weekend.
“The bigger question is this: why is Mt Kenya underperforming in voter registration? The answer is simple — they do not feel they have a horse in the race; politics is driven by motivation,” he stated.
Kuria, who served in former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration, said voter mobilisation in 2017 was significantly higher because the region had a clear presidential stake.
“In 2017, I was in charge of voter registration in the Mt Kenya region for former President Uhuru Kenyatta, working alongside former Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho,” he said.
“I remember the effort we put in, including support from volunteers and groups such as the Mt Kenya Foundation. People were motivated because they believed they had something at stake.”
According to Kuria, data from the third week of the registration exercise shows that counties he termed as Mt Kenya’s broader political allies — including Nairobi, Eastern and Kisii — had achieved only 66 per cent of their targets.
“In fact, if you look at what they call their ‘cousin’ territories — which largely comprise Mt Kenya, Nairobi, Eastern and Kisii — the 14 counties had an average voter registration target achievement of 66 per cent as of week three,” he said.
