The elderly and quarry workers in Baringo County had to take longer time to vote after the Kenya Integrated Elections Management System (KIEMS) failed to verify their registration status biometrically.
The region is rich in quarries and many of the workers’ fingerprints have been worn out in the course of their work.
The voters had to be taken through the longer verification system where the presiding officer has to fill a form to allow them to proceed with the voting.
In Tenges Primary polling centre 11 such cases out of 230 that had cast their votes by one o’clock were singled out of the Biometric KIEMS process while in Cheberen seven out of 92 were also verified by alternative means.
At Kaplebuk Nursery school polling centre in Mogotio constituency five voters were verified by presiding officer via filing of forms while Chepkokon Primary school in the same constituency witnessed six such cases.
At Kipkoriony in Eldama Ravine Constituency the proportion was lower at six out of 400 voters while at Koibatek ATC only three elderly persons underwent the similar fate out of 126 people who voted.
Shimoni Primary and Shimoni Nursery School both in Eldama Ravine experienced negligible number of voters who were verified via filling of forms.
By Christopher Kiprop
