Kenyans in the US will meet the new elections team
By Jeff Kanani, Editor, AjabuAfrica.com, Posted December 6, 2011
BOSTON, Mass.,_Kenyans who want to vote from the Diaspora will this week hear from Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission about the difficult process of registering them to vote.
The IEBC led by Chairman Ahmed Isaack Hassan will spend the next ten days in the U.S. travelling across the country meeting Kenyan organized groups as well as foreign organizations.
Part of the agenda is to explain how they will serve Kenyans abroad in terms of voter registration and the complicated eligibility process. However, many Kenyans in the Diaspora who wish to vote have no citizenship.
Acquiring citizenship for any country is a long, complicated and often a cumbersome process. While many believe that IEBC will attempt to calm down the anxiety of those who lost “citizenship status” and their children who were born here but have never registered as Kenyan citizens, the commissioners are likely to struggle with the answer.
The two key functions for IEBC are to register voters and to conduct elections. Questions of citizenship and the application process are handled by a different government agency.
IEBC is following a disorganized election calendar while the department of immigration responsible for citizenship works in an orderly and organized manner regardless of when the elections are held.
It will require a painful explanation to calm down the jittery Kenyans as to when they will be eligible to vote. History is in the making and every Kenyan abroad wants to be part of it but there is no guarantee that all Kenyans who want to participate in the process will be eligible.
Acquiring citizenship is the key to voting. There are two million Kenyans by some liberal estimates that may have lost their citizenship because of the previous constitutional requirements to discard Kenyan citizenship when they settled in host countries.
Ahmed Isaack Hassan, Chairman, IEBC. Pic courtesy of Kenyaweeklypost.com |
Besides, there are also those who have either lost or have expired passports and national identity cards. Embassy officials who will accompany IEBC members will be expected to inform Kenyans how they will facilitate a faster renewal and issuance of these documents.
Apart from meeting Kenyans, the team is also scheduled to meet various organizations and foreign missions who have carried out election related activities in the U.S.
The Embassy of Cape Verde and the Maryland State Board of Elections confirmed such meetings. The goal is for the commissioners to learn how computer voting systems work, absentee ballots and campaign finance according to Ross Goldstein, Deputy Administrator for the Maryland State Board of Elections.
“We will share our experiences with them,” said Goldstein in a telephone interview with AjabuAfrica.com. “We hope to learn something from them too.”
The commissioners have scheduled to meet Kenyans throughout this week and part of next week.
The first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday evening at the Embassy buildings in Washington D.C. according to the Embassy’s website.
The team will then travel to Los Angels Friday evening to meet Kenyans. Given the size of the country and the scattered nature of the Kenyan residents here, the team will split into two groups. On Saturday, one team will travel to Raleigh, NC, while the second one will head to Dallas, TX.
On Sunday, another team flies to Atlanta, GA while the other members will be in Boston, MA. The last stop will be in Minneapolis, MN, December 12th, 2011.
In Boston however, the group will also join Kenyans here to celebrate the 48th Jamhuri Day celebrations according to the organizers. The events are scheduled from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The Boston organizers are expecting a larger than usual crowd because of the Jamhuri Day celebrations that will also be attended by the H.E. Elkanah Odembo, Ambassador to the US. The venue is at the Lowell Auditorium.
The Embassy of Kenya in Washington D.C. advises individuals to get in touch with their regional Diaspora Advisory Councils for specific information.
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