Kenyans in Diaspora appeal to Raila Odinga for help to get Parliamentary Representative.

On Tuesday, November 19, 2024, Kenyans living abroad requested former premier Raila Odinga to advocate for their representation in the National Assembly.

In a press release, Raila mentioned that the group also asked for better opportunities for Kenyan residents and workers overseas to register and vote.

I encountered members of the Kenyan diaspora who gave a talk to me about improving the registration and voting process for Kenyan expatriates. Raila also requested my support for representation at the National Assembly, he added.

The 2022 IEBC report showed a more than 100% increase in the number of diaspora voters in the 2022 General Election compared to the 2017 election.

IEBC’s report stated that 4,223 people registered as voters in 2017, whereas in 2022, the number of Kenyans in the diaspora who registered as voters was 10,444.

After surpassing the long-standing dominance of tea, coffee, and horticulture, remittances from the diaspora have become the leading source of foreign exchange in Kenya.

By observing the local banks and financial institutions overseen by the Central Bank of Kenya, the government found that the amount of money sent back home by Kenyans in the diaspora increased by Ksh2.4 billion in just September and October, reaching a total of Ksh56.7 billion.

In its weekly bulletin released on Friday, November 15, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) reported that the total inflows over the past 12 months up to October 2024 rose by 15.3 percent