Voter apathy equals wrong leader

Kenyan voters finally decided to take a walk. Voter registers are half-empty as millions of Kenyans declined to register for the August general election.

Most of the rebels against the electoral system are young Kenyans made despondent by the country’s history of vote stealing and violence. And who could blame them? Kenya has had a chequered history when it comes to elections. They have hardly been credible or fair. 

This goes back to the 1990s, at the advent of democracy in the country. Nobody could explain the frustrations of voters and aspirants than former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. A man, despite his popularity then, lost in mysterious circumstances at his last three attempts at the Presidency.

Who could forget lights going out at the eleventh time while he was in the lead and, with it, his ‘defeat’, in 2002? The 2007/2008 vote counting ‘irregularities’ led to further cries and another attempt at squeezing out Raila led to such unimaginable violence as Kenya ever witnessed.

Then in 2017 the Supreme Court re-wrote African history by first nullifying the presidential election and then sending the voters back to the ballot box citing another case of ‘irregular’ elections. Despite that, however, the results were predictable.

Fast-forward to 2019 and the political ground shifted when Raila decided that, since he could not beat ‘them’, he would join the government under a private ‘Handshake’ deal. With that, the opposition died a silent death. What is now left is a smoke screen to BBI. The deal between Azimio la Umoja (aka ODM and it’s factions) and Jubilee was written on the wall.

Voters’ dissatisfaction

The main reason for forcing the law on coalition parties under the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill 2021 just before elections was not an after-thought but a well-choreographed move by the proponents of the ‘Handshake’.

With President Uhuru Kenyatta acting as the henchman alongside his archrival-turned-bosom buddy Raila for the Azimio-Jubilee union, one thing that is certain now is that the ‘retiring’ President is yet to leave the building. He is here to stay in one way or another. His political exit will be believed when seen.

When I saw Raila in Jubilee uniform, I thought that was the day the ‘Orange’ (ODM) became red (Jubilee) and signalled the end of democracy — if we ever had it. Another significant contributor to lower voter turnout at the general election.

Voter apathy is anathema to democracy. It shows voters’ dissatisfaction with the status quo and that democratic ‘ideals’ only work for a few in society who are riding on the back of many who vote them in. 

However, Kenyans not deciding to register as voters or cast the ballot may have just shot themselves in the foot. They always got the same results despite voting differently every time. This time, they may still get different results with no recourse. By failing to register and or vote, they have taken away their voice at the courts.

The bitterly contested 2017 presidential elections is a study of the pros and cons of voting. At the start of the dispute, the irregularities manifested in rigged votes, as captured by the voters and courts. 

Rigging and violence

Fast-forward to the re-run that October and the result was the same. That was because the voters decided not to, as expected, come out in droves to affirm their first votes.

Our election culture of mistrust, rigging and violence will not change until the electoral system is overhauled. 

First, voting should be made mandatory in Kenya. That will not only help to solidify democracy but also enhance citizen participation in politics. Our politics needs injection of the lacking authenticity. Politics is swayed heavily in favour of politicians and not the voters. This has led to a political quagmire every election cycle. 

Mandatory voting will also give voters more leverage in holding leaders to account and set a foundation for fighting impunity. Not voting means denying oneself the voice to speak up for democracy and against electoral malpractices.

Secondly, civic education should be a compulsory module taught in schools and colleges to prepare voters for life in politics. What is being taught now is picked up at barazas led by politicians abusing the system through misinformation.

Mandatory voting in countries such as Kenya will obviously not be foolproof from corruption but is a crucial step in cleaning the country’s politics. The voter register won’t necessarily have to be full of dead people as has been the case but will, hopefully, have a genuine demography of all eligible voters and open to public scrutiny.

Democracy is the vote by the majority. But if the majority is drawn from a handful of registered voters, then that should not qualify such a President to lead apathetic electorates. Kenya demonstrated in 2017 that they can protect their votes through the courts, despite the eventual mess. They can, with hindsight, do it better. 

But not without them voting.

Ms Guyo is a legal researcher. [email protected]. @kdiguyo