You hurt your destiny more by keeping off politics, not voting

It is not glamourous to shun politics and to refuse to engage in electoral processes. It is hurting yourself. [Pius Cheruiyot, Standard]

I have tremendous faith in democracy and robust participation in the electoral process. Unlike, in other countries, for us to vote, our details must be captured in the register of voters.

It is not enough to possess a national identity card (ID) or a valid passport. The forthcoming registration campaign commences nationwide on January 17th and February 15th 2022, in 14 countries targeting Kenyans in the Diaspora.

These are opportunities which we must seize if we truly want to make a difference in our country. We can no longer afford to wait for others to determine our destiny by choosing the leaders we may not want.

The responsibility to get potential voters out to register belongs to all of us but more so to political leaders. In the last few months we have witnessed political rallies attended by impressive crowds. I am sure that a good number of those who attend these rallies are not registered as voters.

There is also another class of professionals yet to register as voters. These are mainly in the private sector and businesses who see politics as a waste of time and do not have any respect for politicians because they believe most politicians lie and make promises they do not keep. They are not alone.

Yet, it is important that all those who qualify to vote, should vote, not just because this is a constitutional right and responsibility but because politicians literally decide matters that affect our lives and death. They also determine whether we have peace and political stability or not.

When politicians, for example, refuse to accept results of an election and for months they boycott Parliament and take to the streets, it makes it impossible for the government to deliver services and for the rest of us to work.

When we elect politicians who engage in corruption or mismanage our national resources, they starve our hospitals and kill our health and food supply chains resulting in more poverty and sick people – leading to people especially children, the elderly and expectant mothers dying of curable diseases while politicians are able to take their loved ones for medical attention abroad.

You see, our decision not to register as voters and not to vote enables others to elect representatives who do not have our interests at heart and who because they have bribed voters, have no obligation over them and they focus on recovering all the campaign money they used to bribe voters during the five years they are elected.

Therefore, the decision is ours. It is not glamourous to shun politics and to refuse to engage in electoral processes. It is hurting yourself. Therefore, you need to arm yourself with a vote. Furthermore, it is also your responsibility to vet the candidates that want your vote.

You therefore have a responsibility to scrutinise their character, track record and credentials. You must know who you are voting for and whether they have the goodwill and the capacities required to represent you. There will be six ballot papers, for president/deputy, senator, member of national assembly, women representative, governor/deputy and member of county assembly.

These need to be individually scrutinised and you must vote for each candidate because of their credentials and not just on the basis of the wave of the party sponsoring them.

All politicians and candidates have a critical responsibility to urge and deliver messages to all potential voters attending their rallies to register as voters.

If leaders spend only three minutes of their campaign time to urge people to go collect their ID cards and go out to register as voters at every political rally, because they need voters; the registration messages would gain traction and more voters would be registered.

It is in the interests of these candidates and politicians to have as many of their supporters registered as voters as possible to ensure their wins are decisive.

 Amb. Koki Muli Grignon works for South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU), Kwa Vonza, Kitui County.