Voter listing advocacy must be within the law

The interest shown in the voter registration exercise that kicked off yesterday is encouraging.

While there are indications a larger section of the public acknowledges that failing to participate in choosing their leaders is responsible, in large measure, for the poor leadership the country has suffered for a long time, it is equally important to note a larger section of Kenyans still do not appreciate the importance of voting.

In a way, this has compelled church and political leaders to take it upon themselves to use whatever measures at their disposal to get more people to register as voters.

The need for concerted civic education therefore becomes of paramount importance.

In established democracies, political parties and aspirants take it upon themselves to move from door to door persuading potential voters to cast their votes for them. Ideally, that is what our leaders and aspirants should be doing.

But when church leaders threaten to stop giving sacrament to worshippers who do not have a voter’s card; when members of the public are denied services in Government facilities even as some leaders go to the extent of advocating for the withholding of conjugal rights because one is not a registered voter, illegalities are being perpetrated.

Such demands have no legal basis and risk turning the whole exercise into one big farce. Rather than waste time on sideshows, leaders should take the opportunity the exercise offers them to sell their ideologies to the electorate in an ideal environment.

There is more to be gained through persuasion than coercion. There is a greater chance of success in winning over voters in one-on-one encounters than in charged rallies where the order of the day normally is scoring off opponents while real issues get lost in the mudslinging.

It is every Kenyan's civic duty to elect a leader of their choice from an informed point.