Kenyans excelled despite nomination challenges

By: John Mulaa
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[ Posted On: 2007-11-28 ]

The recent party nominations in Kenya went as well as they could.

This is despite some chaotic situations that cropped up in several places and the resultant rowdy reaction. Those happenings were essentially a commentary on organisational lapses all round––things that can be corrected next time.

Despite the unpleasant incidents, Kenyans should be proud of what they pulled off. Here is why. Party nominations are entirely civil society affairs without the obvious hand of the state.

The degree to which the state or government facilitates such processes varies from country to country. Usually it depends on how the state and society are organised and relate.

In Kenya, the civil society and popular political maturation has been astonishing– a fact that is frequently commented upon by some foreign observers who rightly point to our political vibrancy, which surpasses any other in the region.

The big story about the recent nominations is the expression of popular sovereignty jealously guarded by the people. The day the nominations took place was not a public holiday yet millions somehow managed to get to polling stations to express their preference. In some instances, they improvised the needed material– ballot papers fashioned from exercise books, ballot boxes from available containers, and probably markers quickly purchased from the nearest shop.

The people also oversaw security through the collective gaze of all. They then kept careful tallies of the votes cast and they were quick to reject any obvious tampering with results. And that is where the party leaders across the board failed. They underestimated the length to which a free people can go to safeguard the expression of their will.

The few riots that greeted what looked like rigged outcomes in some places may have come as a shock to party leaders who regard themselves as beyond reprimand from their supposed followers. It was a lesson in elementary democracy in case they had forgotten — that the people bestow leadership in democracies and it can be similarly withdrawn.

In the poll driven democracies such as the United States, leaders who wish to remain popular check the pulse of the citizens constantly on issues of importance. They only act when they are confident that they have sufficient popular support for whatever cause of action they are contemplating. Former president, Bill Clinton helped by his onetime friend, Mr Dick Morris, was a master of that form of governance. Some have taken issue with that style of leadership, insisting that leaders should lead at all times irrespective of popular opinion. On the whole — at least in the US — that style of command leadership has proven disappointing, destructive and polarising. In the long run it does not appear to accomplish much.

It is amazing that Kenyans — in short order after years under authoritarian leadership or because of it — are extremely wary of abridgement of their rights and immensely value the power to express political preference without undue guidance from 'above.'

Perhaps they remember all too well the dark days when they were given no choices and yet they were encouraged to take part in sham political games whose outcomes were foreordained.

The vigilance of the Kenyan voters may partly be a reaction to the excesses of what is hopefully a bygone era when people's wishes were toyed with, sometimes efficiently and smoothly.

The generation of Kenyans who lived through that period does not wish it to be visited on generations after them. It was a horrific era that eventually led to decay and emasculation of society. Incentives were distorted and eventually people ceased to work to their best. The whole society suffered and it is still paying a price today.

As political parties are rightly castigated for sleeping on the job — whatever happened to all the nomination fees they raked in? — wananchi ought receive several rounds applause for their courage and willingness to stand up for their rights. With such vigilance and willingness to go to the trenches, Kenya's democracy may be assured after all, because the ordinary people own it. This may come as surprise to the political class that thinks party hopping is of consequence. It is not. The people still have to decide despite the labels of convenience politicians stick on themselves like unsure salespeople of dubious goods or services. Voters have infused a needed jolt in our politics.

Article Source: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard

About The Author: John Mulaa is a Researcher and Consultant (World Bank) based in Washington DC. He is also a columnist with the East African Standard. Earlier in his Journalism career, he worked with the Weekly Review (defunct) and the Daily Nation publications in Kenya, as a foreign correspondent.

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