Voters have power to make seismic changes

Ten days to go and excitement and anxiety around the general election are mounting.

Much of the conversation is about the mechanics of the ballot and whether the electoral commission has the capacity, integrity and resources to deliver a credible ballot.

SECURITY

Thousands of voters however are just concerned about security during the vote and family safety afterwards.

The emphasis has almost entirely been on a credible and peaceful ballot.

If the country manages that then the election will be viewed as successful regardless of who wins or loses.

CREDIBILITY

The nation will breathe a sigh of relief and normal life resumes.

It would appear from all of this that the country is at the mercy of incompetent and partisan institutions and reckless, belligerent politicians.

Elections seem to be divisive and useless events that must be endured rather than occasions for nation-building and strengthening democracy.

TRANSFORMATION
Forgive my naivety or ignorance but aren’t elections intended to be an opportunity to bring change and to rid ourselves of folks who are obstacles to the transformation of society?

Have we set the bar so low that we don’t take sufficient time to see beyond ethnicity, party, clan or religion before making vital choices about the leadership we want to entrust the running of the country to for the next five years?

Are we still slaves to the ‘mtu yetu’ culture and hopeless adherents to the tyranny of numbers drivel?

Has fear of violence and the ‘other’ paralysed positive thinking and emasculated patriotic instincts?

YOUTH
Frequently, I have penned pieces about the golden opportunity for youth to make a difference in this year’s ballot.

Between August last year and February this year a massive 4.9 million Kenyans between the ages of 18 and 29 registered as voters.

That age group now represents 46 per cent of voters or 8.7 million in total.

ATTITUDE

In 2013, the same group were only 20 per cent of registered voters.

Media outlets and commentators rarely pay attention to this demographic shift and the youth themselves are not saying much either.

But have attitudes and choices changed in line with the demographic shift in registration?

ELECTION VIOLENCE

Well, according to a recent survey carried out by the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC) and Hakimani, 61 per cent of those interviewed say that clan or tribe will not influence their choice of candidates this year.

Interesting too is that 43 per cent said that they will vote for a presidential candidate according to his leadership ability rather than his surname.

Moreover, 61 per cent of those polled pointed the finger at politicians as the principal triggers in any looming election violence.

The same figure believes that elections will be peaceful.

RATIONAL
Something significant is happening way beyond the noise, rhetoric and circus of campaigns.

An informed public is ready to make rational choices according to their conscience and genuine concern for the common good.

However, most such people don’t realise that they are the majority with power to change and hold politicians accountable.

YOUTH

They think they are alone and cannot impact.

They are afraid to take the risk and move away from the traditional herd.

They must bite the bullet and trust their instincts; then expect results that they deserve.

Fr Dolan is a priest based in Mombasa [email protected] @GabrielDolan1