IIEC to register Kenyan prisoners Friday

The Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) will start registering prisoners as voters this Friday.

The exercise, brought by the Wednesday's ruling by the high court allowing inmates to participate in the forth coming referendum, will target 40,000 prisoners.

Speaking at the weekend in Garissa, IIEC Chairman Ahmed Isaack Hassan urged Kenyans to remain united irrespective of the outcome of the referendum.

The IIEC, he said, will gazette 70 prisons across the country as voter registration centres and polling stations starting early next week.

He added that those with huge numbers of prisoners will have two streams, one for women and the other for men.

A five judge bench on Wednesday directed the electoral body to register the inmates in the next 21 days starting Thursday.

Only inmates who are of sound mind, age of 18 and have their Identification cards qualify to register for the referendum set for 4th of August this year.

The suit had been filed by inmates from Shimo La Tewa.

Section 43 (c ) of the current constitution disqualifies convicts from voting in a presidential, parliamentary and civic elections but the convicts told the Court that the section of the law does not bar prisoners from participating in a referendum.

Through Kituo Cha Sheria, a human rights lobby group, the prisoners argued that barring them from the plebiscite to accept or reject the proposed constitution was unconstitutional and a violation of their rights.