Polls aren’t a matter of life and death

Under ideal conditions, political competition should be about determining who has the best policy proposals to address challenges facing a country. Therefore, while most politicians tend to pursue power for its own sake or as a means to personal wealth, the need to win elections forces them to consider the plight of voters.

Overall, functional democracies do not succeed on the basis of electing “good” politicians alone, but on the extent to which they force political elites to align their personal interests with those of the general public. In Kenya, it is fair to say that for most of our history, the interests of those that have governed us have scarcely aligned with the general interests of the public. Ongoing campaigns ahead of 2022 are a painful reminder of this fact. On either side of the political divide, politicians are gunning for power by any means necessary, and with little regard for the lives and livelihoods of Kenyans.