Electoral system reforms vital to securing the post-election peace
A succession of headlines on tender wars holding up supply of election materials and technology must have elicited a collective groan.
Almost every election since the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and its predecessors took over management of polls, the process has been compromised by botched procurement.
It has now become the norm that delays in delivery of election materials forces emergency procurement at the last minute with hardly enough time to install, test and commission the systems.
And let us not forget that we’re going into the 2022 General Election with exactly the same institution that botched the 2017 elections and forced the Supreme Court to nullify the presidential poll results.
The Opposition, headed by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, boycotted the repeat election on the grounds that the same IEBC was incapable of delivering free and fair elections, leaving President Kenyatta to romp home with an African majority.
It’s still the same IEBC in place, with very little evidence of reforms and changes geared towards ensuring that the mistakes of 2017 will not be repeated. Indeed, to this day, IEBC still denies culpability for the series of errors that led to nullification of the 2017 polls despite the damning Supreme Court verdict.
Mr Odinga and his then-running-mate, former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka were the main casualties of the mismanaged election and both are expected to run for president next year in polls run under the same discredited regime.
Deputy President William Ruto was a key beneficiary of IEBC blunders and will be in the running this time but without the benefit of backing by the State machinery.
All the aspirants have been strangely silent in the face of IEBC blunders. Mismanaged polls benefit nobody. This is the time for us to take a clinical look at the electoral system and demand the reforms that will help IEBC deliver a free, fair and credible election.
This could mean a fresh look at electoral laws, systems and procedures and, if need be, uprooting the entire edifice and installing one that can start on a clean slate.
Our elections are always filled with tension and the threat of violence, and there is no telling the dangers a botched poll holds. It’s in recognition of this threat that a multi-agency team has been convened to plot scenarios and interventions in the event the 2022 elections turn violent.
Drawing protests
However, the composition of the team, which includes Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and his ICT colleague Joe Mucheru, is already drawing protests from the Ruto campaign team.
A big problem is that the multi-agency team is top-heavy with government functionaries obsessed with the law and order approach and muzzling of the media. The best guarantee of peace is not police action but free and fair elections. To secure trust, it’s important that the team be expanded to include stakeholders such as political parties, election observers, civil society and media.
IEBC must also change its focus towards free and fair elections rather than just dealing with the predictable violent outcome of botched polls.
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My column last week was headlined ‘Central Kenya must let others eat’. That unfortunate choice of words rightly upset some readers, who felt the article was pushing the narrative that the presidency is all about ‘our turn to eat’.
I absolutely don’t hold to that primitive school of thought and, therefore, take this early opportunity to apologise to all readers who might have read it that way.
On my central thesis, however, I have absolutely no apologies to make. Yes, democracy is about votes but is compromised if reduced to arrogance of an ethnic majority insensitive to the needs, feelings and aspirations of other communities. We must give serious thought to reforms that will ensure all get a sense of belonging. In any case, we must forever banish the false notion that a community can only secure its interests by occupying State House.
President Jomo Kenyatta ruled Kenya for 15 years but his Gatundu constituency remained the most undeveloped in central Kenya. The tarmac, as we used to say, ended at the gate to his private residence.
President Daniel arap Moi ruled for 24 years but his Baringo district remained a barren wasteland. And, to date, his Kalenjin community still regards itself as marginalised and neglected. Benefits of the presidency, if any, go only to the man at the top, his family and a few business associates — not the wider ‘tribe’ BY DAILY NATION

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