Success of new polls team lies in our sincerity, change of attitude

By Kilemi Mwiria

Parliament has in the past week debated a Bill to set up the new electoral and boundaries commission.

It is hoped with less politicisation in the composition, we shall never again witness the ugly side of 2007.

But as they say in the Bible, it is pointless to put new wine in old bottles.

Our elections have always been messed up not because there was no law to guide their conduct or because commissioners were incompetent.

The biggest problem is dishonesty of politicians, who shamelessly condone rigging for themselves and their preferred presidential candidates.

In doing this, they have more than willing accomplices amongst voters and returning officers often up for sale to the highest bidder.

We know of cases where returning officers have announced different winners for the same constituency in quick succession; after all changing one’s mind is only human.

Following the many successful election petitions, many MPs concede they would not be in Parliament if the electoral code had been faithfully adhered to. Cheating in one form or another occurs in virtually all constituencies.

Few of us have also embraced the democratic principle of coming to terms with an electoral loss. Losers are always rigged out even when their queues were clearly the shorter ones under the infamous queue voting system.

In Africa, it is unimaginable for an incumbent to lose an election as evidenced in the recent Ivory Coast crisis. Nor have most of us internalised the principle of fairness. We crave every opportunity to gain unfair advantage.

No wonder some MPs are calling for the acceptance of the Ligale electoral boundaries’ report when its unfairness is so glaring. But this is beside the point. What matters to MPs in support is that the report recommends more constituencies for their regions and not those of their opponents.

How ironic at a time when the same MPs are heaping all the sins of past elections on Samuel Kivuitu and his commissioners.

Almost incurable tribalism is a further obstacle in the way of even the most fair and competent electoral body.

The 2007 election mess was as much about tribe as it was about presidential personalities.

Here in Kenya and elsewhere in Africa, a result is rarely acceptable if it does not favour one’s ethnic candidate.

No wonder some MPs are calling for staffing of the new body with individuals from communities that do not have the numbers for the biggest political job, undemocratic as it may appear.

Hopefully, we can bank on future generations of Kenyans who seem to have embraced the spirit of fair political competition.

But it had better be soon enough before they are contaminated by the likes of us. Meanwhile, I concur with MPs calling for capital punishment on errant electoral officials and politicians who spur them on.

Better still, the new commission should bar dishonest, corrupt and tribal chauvinists from future elections.

—The writer is MP for Tigania West and Assistant Minister for Higher Education, Science & Technologya