The official launch of the 2022 presidential campaigns, actually the final lap, is bound to witness increased tempo as marathon turns into frenzied sprint to the finish line.
Tempers will get frayed, the decibel count will go up, there will be more pushing, shoving and jostling and more likelihood of desperation on all sides that leads to unorthodox tactics.
The two main candidates, Deputy President William Ruto, carrying the Kenya Kwanza Alliance flag, and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga with the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition party ticket, completed their nomination formalities over the weekend.
Both pledged before electoral commission chairman Wafula Chebukati—and the nation at large through live television broadcast—to respect and abide by the Electoral Code of Conduct they had signed.
They agreed to run clean campaigns free of violence, intimidation and incitement and also restrain their supporters who may resort to thuggery and other objectionable behaviour.
Even as either side raised valid queries on readiness and capacity of Mr Chebukati’s team to deliver a free, fair, transparent, accountable and verifiable election, both Dr Ruto and Mr Odinga expressed confidence that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will live up to its mandate.
That, by extension, should be taken as solemn vows to respect and cooperate with the electoral body, desist from any actions or utterances that would compromise or interfere with its work and, ultimately, respect the outcome announced and the verdict of the voters.
There will, of course, be issues to be raised on so many facts of election preparations and the integrity of every step from voter identification, voting, counting of votes onto tallying, transmission and announcement of results. However, we must trust that valid questions will be raised in a civil manner and through the legitimate formal channels rather than the heady atmosphere of campaign rallies.
Going forward, everything must be about helping IEBC to refine its processes, rather than impeding its work, inciting the public and laying advance groundwork for rejection of the results.
To earn this cooperation, however, IEBC must be more proactive in updating the public on its preparations, answering questions before they are asked, demonstrating that everything is on track and generally being more open and transparent than during past elections.
Clean and decent campaigns
The pledges by Dr Ruto and Mr Odinga, as well as all the other candidates on the ballot, are not limited to engagement with the IEBC. Even more important is how they conduct themselves on the campaign trail. The public will expect that they are honourable men who will live up to their vows. That they will run clean and decent campaigns devoid of the usual insults, lies, mudslinging and violent rhetoric.
Dr Ruto and Mr Odinga will not only be civil and courteous but also demand the same of anyone associated with their campaigns. It serves little if the two principals act all prim and proper but sit back and watch without intervening as their acolytes spew out hate speech, ethnic incitement and vile slander.
Away from the campaign rallies, we also expect that both camps will keep firmly muzzled their rabid hired guns in the social media space, where vile propaganda easily goes unchecked out of the realm of IEBC or the Media Code of Conduct. Cambridge Analytica and other such mercenaries, as well as the local 'keyboard warriors', must not be allowed to profit from inciting hatred, division and war.
Ultimately, the candidates must take direct and personal responsibility for anything done in furtherance of their presidential bids. If bloggers promoting either Dr Ruto or Mr Odinga cross the line, then the intended beneficiaries must be held responsible for it.
The duo must disown and condemn the warmongers and cooperate in all ways leading to the miscreants facing the law. They must also be aware that, under the Elections Act, the Election Offences Act and the Electoral Code of Conduct, they are liable and can face penalties for the conduct of their campaigns.
This, therefore, is the time for Mr Chebukati to lay down the law. He must impress on all election candidates that he will no longer be a toothless bulldog but is ready to bite. He has at his disposal an arsenal of sanctions, ranging from monetary fines, suspension of campaign activity and the ultimate penalty, disqualification from the elections.
Dr Ruto and Mr Odinga do not enjoy immunity from such sanctions. They must, therefore, behave and also ensure that their campaigners, supporters and everybody (un)officially associated with their presidential bids are on best behaviour.
