You must play your role for credible and fair elections

Voters should be made aware of the importance of inspecting the registers especially the IEBC register of voters. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Credible, free and fair elections mean they must be believable, transparent, inclusive and accountable and that there must have been efforts to ensure all contestants and their supporters enjoy equitable opportunities to compete.

Any person examining these elections should say the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and all stakeholders did their best to ensure the elections genuinely reflect the free expression of the will of the people. This is the fundamental principle underpinning the concept of credible, free and fair elections. There are many ways to guarantee this.

Among them is a conducive electoral environment where the institutions that manage or conduct the electoral process are independent – the IEBC, the Registrar of Political Parties, government, media, Parliament, Judiciary and other key stakeholders including candidates, political parties, supporters, voters, observers/agents and other governmental and non-governmental actors – who are co-creators or co-guarantors of credible, free and fair elections.

We must play our individual roles independently, transparently and professionally. We register, we campaign, participate in nominations, vote, witness voting/counting peacefully, the media does its work fairly and professionally, and all other stakeholders remain professional and act within the law. All electoral laws and timelines must be adhered to. There is need for genuine and equality of partnership, cooperation and collaboration between all actors and stakeholders. Offenders must be sanctioned without fear or favour to avoid impunity.

Secondly, there must be free access of information as guaranteed by the Constitution. The duty bearers such as the IEBC and the Registrar of Political Parties should provide necessary and relevant information and guidance to key players in elections. The political parties’ members’ registers and the register of voters should be current and comprehensive, ensuring that dead voters or multiple registrations are cleaned out.

Voters should be made aware of the importance of inspecting the registers especially the IEBC register of voters to ensure their particulars are accurately captured. Sufficient voter education is necessary to ensure voters know what documents they will need to vote, when, where and the deadlines for transferring their votes from one polling station/area/county to another.

In a charged atmosphere like the one we have, voter education should focus voters to issues and behaviours, which should land them, their candidates, political parties and all players in elections, in trouble.

It cannot be that corruption, voter bribery, insults, abuse, intimidation, violence (both physical and emotional) can become fair game. Someone must pay for insulting or abusing others; an apology cannot be the way we treat such extreme criminal acts and bad manners; we cannot allow them to get away with actionable behaviour and conduct just because they are badly brought up and have apologised; that is why we have laws and correctional institutions. This is the time law and order matters.

No one should be allowed to hide behind the curtains of the internet to blog or videotape abuses and insults to others. Even though it is difficult to police the internet comprehensively, efforts must be made to ensure whatever emerges is punished to end impunity.

Access to and freedom of information and the right to free expression are limited and conducts or use of information to injure others or their reputation and other malicious use of information must be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

As we approach August 9th 2022, political temperatures will rise even higher. Law enforcement and administration of justice systems must bite harder.

For some strange reasons, the law enforcement appears overwhelmed during the electioneering period; docilely watching over criminal behaviour, with little action. It is as if they cede their powers to the IEBC and other elections stakeholders.

They much act fiercely; crimes do not cease to be so just because it is elections period. The Elections Offences Act and the Penal Code must be implemented to the letter especially during the elections period. Everybody must account for and be held accountable for their actions. We all must play our individual roles to ensure peaceful, credible, free and fair 2022 elections.