NDERITU: When census results are reduced to a political contest

An enumerator collects details of a household during the census exercise in Nyalenda slums, Kisumu on August 24, 2019. PHOTO | ONDARI OGEGA | NMG

Population censuses have recently been in the news in Ethiopia and Kenya with the Kenyan one happening the last week of last month.

In Ethiopia, parliamentarians voted overwhelmingly for the postponement of the census due to security concerns centred on ethnic conflicts. The Ethiopian census results are important in demarcating constituencies before the 2020 national vote.