Political class to blame for imminent voter apathy

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has embarked on a very crucial nationwide exercise of mass voter registration. Figures show that there is a large number of Kenyans who have their Identity Cards but have no voter's card. Again, there are those who have voters card but don't use it when it comes to deciding their country's destiny through elections. This brings about voter apathy. Voter apathy simply means lack of interest in voting; a case whereby people who are eligible to vote don't turn out to cast their ballot on election day. In Kenya, voting is not mandatory and so that makes it easier for one not to care. But there seems to be an awakening signal sent to politicians concerning this year's elections. For the first time in the history of Kenya, they have taken it by themselves with so much energy to rally people to register as voters in large numbers. Politicians, including the incumbents are traversing the country and mostly in their perceived strongholds to encourage people to register and vote for them come August. I would like to dig deep into two issues. One; voter apathy and why it occurs and two; what Kenyans are before the eyes of politicians. I will tackle the latter first. At a time when the country is facing imminent drought, lecturers and doctors are striking, the economy is shrinking and the unemployment rate is high, the politicians are united by one thing; voter registration. This proves that in the eyes of a Kenyan politician, you are first a voter, second a voter, third a voter and then later a Kenyan. Which is why all of a sudden politicians have united to ask you to register in order to serve their own interests of ascending to power. These kinds of theatrics in the political arena are becoming irrelevant, especially to the elite in society. IEBC states that there is a large number of youth who have no voter's card yet have IDs while others have attained the age of 18 but are yet to apply or pick the IDs from the relevant offices. If the politicians had all along shown political maturity, sobriety and respect, Kenyans would freely register in large numbers and vote for whoever they think is best for them. It is the persistent failure to honor promises by politicians that is causing voter apathy. Truth be told, if politicians do the right thing from the first day they ascend to power, they would not have to remind people to register as voters and forget about health and education crisis. They would not have to worry that they are not going to be elected or re-elected but would focus on making Kenya a food stable country. Another issue that I would like to talk about is what the Opposition leaders in this country stand for and whether the people relate to that. The Opposition has in many occasions corrected the Government and accused it of harboring corruption. Corruption is one of the biggest outdoing of the current regime. But do Kenyans really care about that? Does it move them an inch? I want to say that sometimes Opposition leaders take positions that don't resonate with their followers' wishes. Therefore, this has necessitated them to hit the ground running reminding their followers what they have been able to unearth, the scandals they have exposed and why they need to have numbers to oust the incumbent. After getting people to register, the politicians will have another big task to make sure that all these people vote. Which is the most important thing, otherwise the energy and resources used to encourage people to vote will be rendered futile. Let politicians be honest, and Kenyans will know the importance of voting. Let development record drive a Kenyan to vote.

Political class to blame for imminent voter apathy

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Stand With Bold Journalism.
Stand With The Standard.

Related Topics

Popular this week

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS

DIGGER JOBS

Digger Motors

Digger Real Estate

Political class to blame for imminent voter apathy

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Stand With Bold Journalism. Stand With The Standard.

Related Topics

Trending Now

Popular this week

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS

Stand With Bold Journalism.
Stand With The Standard.