While the emotional
aftermath of winning and losing in the 2022 political season is likely to go on for a period of
time, Kenya is teaching the world four major lessons from the unfolding events
of the General Elections. With a final voter turnout of 65% it is clear that
every third registered voter did not cast their ballot. The result of the presidential
elections was determined by two out of three eligible voters. The choice of two
thirds of the voting block determined the destiny of the nation. Politicians around
the world are usually blamed for many things, but the people of Kenya can only
blame themselves for not coming out to vote. While the margin of victory between
the winner and the loser of the presidential vote stands at less than 2%, if
the third man, or woman, had cast their vote for one or other of the candidates, that
candidate would have garnered a whopping, uncontestable 62% of the vote.
Unfortunately, we will never know the veracity of that claim, because every third
voter in Kenya did not turn up at the ballot box. Kenya is now a international case-study in Voter Apathy that has cost the country a decisive electoral victory. The results
are bound to be disputed.
Secondly, politics and leadership are not the same thing. Politics is about the will of the people. Leadership is about good governance. The will of the people has been known to obtain great victory in politics like electing Abraham Lincoln to the Oval office. But, it also petulantly ejected Britain’s war time hero, Winston Churchill from prime minister. But the will of the people is also credited with incorrigible instances such as voting for the release from prison of "Barabbas", a murderer, instead of a person with no criminal record in ancient Israel. When people yearn for leadership they aspire for socio-economic well-being and personal security. However, general elections do not always deliver that outcome. Where leadership and politics converge we get Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Ellen Sirleaf Johnson. Where the two diverge we get Hitler, Taylor, Apartheid and other forms of dictatorship. In the later circumstances there is an immediate call for a savior.
Third, tribalism
leads to isolation. The use of the tribal card during elections is clearly
reflected in voting patterns. Unfortunately, the election outcome has been directed
by vested “tribal strongholds” touted by the political class long before
election day. Whether this is good or bad for the country is a matter of debate,
However, what is not in debate is the clear division and emergence of pockets
of disenfranchised strongholds rather than the establishment of a broad based
national consensus of winning candidates. The problem with the “tribalism of
the vote” is that no one can change “parties”. In other words, a person from one
community, by natures endowment, cannot change their perceived membership to
another community party even if they so wished. This leads to imputed and
assumed voter profiling based on ethnicity rather than an individuals political
leaning. This automatically leads to ostracism, distrust among communities, sustained
disenfranchisement among losers and exclusion from governance no matter what
platitudes or word combinations are used to convince the people otherwise.
Fourth, civic responsibility
is more than casting a vote. That vote needs to count for good governance, the conscientious
wellbeing of the nation and its civilian work ethic. In other words, civic
education needs to empower voters to consider what is good for the nation
beyond what is gratifying to self. A citizens’ civic responsibility goes beyond
self. Boy scouts and the disciplined forces have the right
attitude with “service beyond self”. Civil responsibility, in the face of political
leaning, can deal with the demise of corruption. But, this attitude need not be
confined to the disciplined forces, it is an attitude that can transform the
tunes of patriotic songs and dances into lived experiences of hope. Kenyans
have a choice to make, but the world is certainly learning from us. As a nation
under the fear of God, we could do well to learn from ourselves.
Leadership consultant, lecturer & author
His
training has impacted thousands of employees from hundreds of organizations
around Africa. His empowering books on leadership and personal development
have transformed many lives across the continent.
Very well put Allan. The lower vote turnout is also an indictment to our electoral process. It began with missing our target of registering 6 million potential voters. The young people like my second son refused to vote because according to them, one the voting pattern is very tribal and they have no tribe. Two, when you are told it's the deep state that determines the outcome, why vote. These are the same things that led to voter apathy even among the registered voters. My take in all this is that a Presidential system of Government is not the best for us, we need a purely parliamentary one. Having said that, we need not also be too harsh to ourselves. We are a growing democracy and with what I saw this time round, there's hope.
ReplyDeleteThank you Achoki. we must continue learning and grow to full maturity
ReplyDeleteThis was a good one Allen.Indeed we put to much weight on democracy and yet it is leadership that betters lives!
ReplyDeleteYes, we need to fully appreciate the difference between leadership and politics to get maximum value from political processes.
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