GOVERNOR MUTUA ON IEBC

Alfred Mutua has said the 2017 general poll should be put off if Kenyans living in East African countries and around the world are not allowed to vote.

The Machakos Governor asked the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to ensure all Kenyans in EA and the Diaspora participate.

The commission said only countries with more than 3,000 Kenyan voters qualify for polling stations. Those in the Diaspora can only vote for the President and in a referendum.

But Mutua said even Kenyans in countries that do not meet the requirement "must be allowed to exercise their constitutional right to elect the leaders they deserve".

"Voting is not a favour but a right for every Kenyan, regardless of where they are," he told hundreds living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, during a forum on Thursday evening.

Mutua said the IEBC must be put under pressure to establish mechanisms for Kenyans outside the country to vote, as locking them out would be "unfair and unconstitutional".

The commission said the registration of Kenyan voters in the Diaspora will take place between March 10 and 24.

Mutua, who was the keynote speaker at a forum on investments in Machakos, by parties living in Tanzania, said the county has potential for good returns.

"I keep on saying the solutions for the problems facing our country will come from Kenyans; w must invest back home,'' he said.

Mutua said the primary focus of his Maendeleo Chap Chap Movement is development-based politics, not empty promises.

He said leaders opposing the movement are afraid of the political paradigm shift from focus on not self interests to the people.

The Governor said there is need for people-focused leadership but that most leaders are "self-centred and concentrate on politics of seizing and controlling power".

"We are tired of politics of poverty. We need politics of development. That is why I always insist there is no romance in poverty," he said.