Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana has proposed that all Kenyans with national ID cards should be compelled to vote in order to increase participation in general elections.

This comes after discovering that more than 50% of residents in his county who have ID cards have not registered as voters.

He made these remarks during a voter registration awareness exercise organized by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in Hola, Tana River County.

“I have noted that many registered voters in Tana River County do not turn out to vote during general elections. I have urged residents of Tana River to take the second step after registration by actually turning up to vote during elections,” said Mr. Mungatana.

Mr. Mungatana cited countries such as Australia and Belgium, where voting is compulsory and failure to do so results in a fine.

In Africa, Egypt and Gabon also have systems of compulsory voting.

“As a result, voter turnout in Australia reaches about 95%. It is time to consider such a system. Therefore, there is a need for us to enact a law that makes voting in general elections mandatory,” he said.

The Deputy Chairperson of the IEBC, Ms. Fahima Arafat, urged residents to register as voters and warned against politicizing the exercise.

She said it is the responsibility of Kenyans to register and later turn out to vote.