The mass voter registration exercise is on the home stretch starting this week from 6th to 14th February 2017. It is the last week and most wards, constituencies, and counties have not hit the fifty percent mark that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission had projected for the four-week exercise. The question that remains logically unanswered is why the apathy to new voter registration? And how in the future is that malaise to be cured? West Media postulates the solution for the future after the 2017 General elections lies in tying the issuance of new identity cards, yes first-time, not renewals, to voter registration. That is, the IEBC must integrate its voter registration to the issuance of new identity cards to citizens of Kenya.
But how is it that Kenya which is suffocating with too many governance structures at both the national and county level cannot harness those administrative structures to deliver optimum new voter registration across the republic. What purpose are those governance structures serving if they cannot deliver new voters for registration? At the national government level we have the Nyumba Kumi administrative unit, and then there is the Sub-Chief, the chief, Sub-County commissioners, the county commissioners. How can they all be unable to urge the residents under their jurisdiction to register in large numbers? Are these governance structures there just for sake of bureaucracy or getting into the skin of citizens on useless petty issues or they are just incompetent and deadwood? All county governments have equally since 2013 established administrative structures, with manpower paid by taxpayers, which can’t leverage, mobilize high voter registration turnout.
Is the voter registration performance per Ward, Constituency, and County to be used to measure the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of those occupying those offices. Surely what greater civic duty falls on the presently elected ward representative, Member of Parliament, Governor and Senator than to roll up their sleeves, stop loitering at county headquarters and Nairobi and go to the villages to rally their electorate to register in numbers for the forthcoming general elections?
The elected leaders are earning huge salaries and allowances for the purpose of governing the Ward, the Constituency and the County and it behoves them to be on the forefront of crafting innovative strategies to rally their residents who are eligible to vote to register as voters. At the end of the voter registration exercise on the 14th of February 2017 let an audit be done to show who of the elected leaders in concert with the multiple administrative, governance structures in existence are effective leaders, those that are able to connect with the electorate and deliver the appropriate returns on voter registration. If the voter registration exercise does not attain at least seventy-five percent of the targeted voters then time is here to reconsider either the suitability of the many administrative units at the National and County levels or the occupants of the same for being administrative or governance failures.
Eligible citizens of Western Kenya who are not registered voters please step forward and register as voters so that come 8th August 2017 you may exercise, perform one of this country’s most sacred constitutional obligation of electing the leaders of the country for the next four years. Bad governance remains the single most challenge to the realization of this country’s promises and dreams embodied in the constitution of Kenya. The aspirations of all Kenyans for a government based on the essential values of human rights, equality, freedom, democracy, social justice, the rule of law and prosperity can only be achieved through electing into public office leaders who have integrity and are competent.