Peaceful and prosperous nations have one thing in common — a positive political culture. This entails the pursuit, capture and retention of political power without recourse to barbarism. Proper political manners demand respect for your rivals in spite of ideological differences, ethnic background, social status, belief or creed. Positive political culture is thus the collective mental maturity to accept defeat gracefully and move on without tearing the country apart. It is also the ability to conduct political business gracefully without disrupting economic and social rhythms.
It is not an endless shifting of goalposts when you sense defeat. It cannot be the ability to present scores of unfounded claims against your opponent, and public institutions. These are the values that should have been defined in the political party nominations. However, the reality that confronts us is unsettling.
Voters attacking polling centres and burning ballot papers; kidnapping returning officers, shooting at rivals’ convoys – all these incidents occurred during the primaries. This should not have happened if we were a politically-mature society where the power of reason renders blunt the sword of ignorance and intolerance. Why is it that voters settled for characters whose claim to fame is grabbing public land, emptying public coffers and immorality?
The answer lies in the realisation that the average Kenyan voter is light years away from seeing the co-relation between rotten leadership and our underdevelopment. Even the much-touted youth vote is turning out to be a disappointment because many of the young politicians simply want to get elected to the National or County assemblies and join the big eaters’ club. The tragedy of our time is that we are going to a General Election with this mind set. Few will be voted for because of visionary leadership, selflessness, or the resolve to say NO to the erosion of our democratic gains. Let’s launch a new campaign to reverse this trend.
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