Number of independents will soon overtake party nominees

The country has grown green and beautiful once again.

Even the birds of the air are celebrating because those creatures that had burrowed underground are back on the surface, and because of the rains which have pounded most parts of the country this week, probably halting the march of armyworms.

There is hope of renewal in the air, but of course there is despair too because our politics never seems to grow mature.

Our Constitution is a noble document with noble intentions.

OPPORTUNISTS

However, it is littered with so many liberalisms that in our interpretations, we sometimes end up tying ourselves in knots.

Take the issue of independent candidates who sprung up in droves as soon as they lost or were cheated out of nomination slots.

If one were to listen to them, it is as if nobody was validly nominated.

But let’s ask ourselves this question. Is it possible that all these hundreds who feel aggrieved were actually rigged out?

This is highly unlikely. What is more likely is that a few turned into overnight opportunists who believe that given the same set of circumstances the voters will change their minds and give them a second chance.

Other politicians are victims of their own hubris.

Some can never contemplate losing and when they do, it seems like the end of the world to them.

PARTY PRIMARIES

It is not easy to understand how a man who lost by more than 100,000 votes can actually claim he was rigged out.

Surely, if you find yourself outdone even in your own constituency, isn’t it time you realised that your voters have rejected you?

For instance, there is one gubernatorial candidate who still believes he lost unfairly and wants either a repeat or he decamps from Jubilee.

The man may probably be aware that all he will do is to spoil the party for the man who beat him.

He is certain to split the vote to the advantage of the rival party’s candidate.

What kind of vendetta can drive a man to do such a thing?

The electoral laws say that a person is eligible to stand as an independent candidate if he is not a member of a registered political party and he has not been a member of such a party for the three months preceding an election.

REQUIREMENTS
He or she must also comply with other constitutional requirements, and a few others specific to that candidacy.

My contention is that these extra requirements have been so watered down as to be completely useless.

For instance, people who want to try their luck as independent governors must be party-less for three months prior to the election, and they also have to present a list of 5,000 names endorsing them.

Originally, these people would, themselves not have been affiliated to any party for that length of time, but my guess is that the particular clause was rejected because it was impracticable.

This is very sad, for it has led to a situation where losers are jumping up and down like yoyos.

At this rate, very soon, there will be more independent candidates than those who went through the rigours of party nominations.

This cannot be healthy for democracy and reforms should be enacted swiftly to rectify the anomaly.

INTERESTING CANDIDATES
It should, for instance, be mandatory for any complainant to prove beyond doubt that he or she was cheated.

The burden of proof should be on the loser and not on a tribunal.

This may be the only way to ensure that jokers and no-hopers do not waste everyone’s time and our money.

In the meantime, the other day, it occurred to me that Jubilee voters have picked a cast of very interesting characters.

Among those nominated and likely to become governors and MPs are a rapper, a gospel musician, a man who likes to solve knotty problems by hurling stones at them, one who is prone to declaring himself acting President at whim, and yet another who cannot open his mouth without hurling an invective or two.

To Mr Johnson Sakaja, Mr Njagua Kanyi, Mr Ferdinand Waititu, Mr Mbuvi Sonko and Mr Moses Kuria, I wish you guys a fruitful stay in Jubilee, and if your luck holds, in the next government.

One thing is certain. Should President Kenyatta form it, he won’t lack for wacky combatants ready to defend him by any means possible.

[email protected]