Learn from Americans, register and vote wisely

I sat quietly and attentively listening to one of my favourite priests at St Joseph’s Catholic Church Milimani in Kisumu as he encouraged the congregation to register as voters.

Boldly and candidly, he said failing to register as voters and failing to vote were sins punishable by God himself.

This message struck me as we ushered in the dawn of an electoral season heralded by the last voter registration exercise before the August polls.

I urge all Kenyans of age to be conscious of the heavy responsibility that has once again been bestowed on us by history.

We must register as voters to enable all of us to exercise our democratic and civic rights as citizens of this country; a duty and responsibility that must not be taken lightly.

We have been told time and again that bad leaders are chosen by good citizens who opt not to vote. Nothing can be further from the truth.

We elect bad leaders by refusing to registers as voters and/or failing to not only vote but also do so wisely.

To put this into perspective, a significant section of the American population is still reeling form the shock wins of Donald Trump and the Republicans. Many have refused to accept the outcome of the November 8, 2016 elections.

But it is now clear that quite a number of Democratic Party supporters did not turn out to vote in key swing states.

By failing to vote, they voted in a leader they did not want; by failing to vote, they cost their candidate, Hillary Clinton, an election win despite her leading by majority votes.

The Americans will have to live with their choice for the next four years. This is what is likely to happen in Kenya if we do not register as voters and vote wisely.