Politicians set sights on diaspora votes

Independent Interim Electoral Commission chief executive Lawrence Oswago, however, says it is important for proper legislation to be put into place to determine who will be eligible to vote in the election.He says there is need to objectively debate whether a Kenyan who has been away from the country for several years is eligible to vote.“We have Kenyans who have been out of the country for over 40 years and we need to ask if these people can actually vote, and if Kenyans in the diaspora were to vote, would they vote in the presidential elections only or for all the positions,” Mr Oswago says.The IIEC chief executive gives the examples of Britain where you cannot vote if you have been away for more than 15 years; Australia where a six-year absence deprives you of the vote and the US where Americans can vote regardless of how long they have been outside the country.Every US citizen must vote wherever he/she is, while India does not allow its diaspora population to vote because a big population is resident outside the country...Who do you think should be illegible to vote...?