We must vote peacefully and elect good leaders

All eligible Kenyans from all walks of life will from early this morning troop to the various polling stations across the country to cast their ballot. This is yet another opportunity for the people to exercise their cardinal right to participate in the choice of their leaders from the grassroots to the national level.

There will be a lot of enthusiasm as the people vote for their MCA, Woman Representative, MP, Senator, Governors and President. This is a vital civic duty that must be devoid of intimidation for Kenyans to freely exercise that right.

The 2022 General Election is particularly significant as it will see a transition of leadership with President Kenyatta, who has served the maximum two five-year terms, giving way to whoever will be handed the mantle by the voters. The new leader is likely to come from one of the two major coalitions. Deputy President William Ruto, the Kenya Kwanza Alliance candidate, is facing the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party flagbearer, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

The other candidates are Prof George Wajackoyah of Roots Party of Kenya and Agano Party’s David Mwaure Waihiga.

Today’s polling is the culmination of spirited campaigns by the candidates across the country in which tempers have sometimes flared, as manifested in heated exchanges. However, unlike in the past, the campaigns have been generally peaceful and we hope that the tranquillity will prevail even during the voting, the counting of the ballots and announcement of results.

A rallying call in this election has been the need to maintain peace. The candidates have signed an electoral code of conduct requiring them to shun bribery and violence and avoid hate speech or actions that can lead to intimidation or fights.

As Kenyans vote, the whole world will be watching to see whether there will be a repeat of the mayhem that was witnessed after the disputed 2007 presidential election. Then, some 1,500 Kenyans perished and hundreds of thousands were evicted from their homes. The candidates must not just keep the peace but also ensure that, should they be defeated, their supporters don’t run amok.

The people should go to the polling stations early with their national identity cards or passports they registered with, vote and return to their homes to wait for the results. It’s important that peace is maintained at the polling stations and tallying centres, the excitement of the moment notwithstanding.

Of course, the police and other security agencies will be there to help the IEBC deliver on its mandate to conduct an efficient election, but the officers can’t be everywhere all the time. The people have a duty as patriotic Kenyans to strictly follow the rules for peace and order to prevail.

Intimidate some people

The threats meant to intimidate some people from voting in certain areas, such as the leaflets being circulated in some violence-prone regions, must be condemned in the strongest terms possible. This is a crude violation of the constitutional freedoms of Kenyans to work or live anywhere in the country. The people registered as voters in any place must be allowed to cast their ballots. This crude zoning is illegal and must never be condoned.

Since crowds will be gathering as voters queue for their turn to vote, they must not forget that the Covid-19 pandemic, although its incidence has been lessened, is still very much around. They should maintain the protocols that they have observed in the past two years to keep the viral disease at bay.

Elections also come with increased littering, what with campaign posters and other election materials. The end of the elections should see intense efforts to clean up the environment. Candidates should be made to pull down their posters.

A country that has entrenched a culture of voting over the years must enable all registered voters to cast their ballots. The candidates must resist the temptation to incite people to violence. If they have a genuine complaint about the conduct of the elections, they should, instead of whining, seek redress by filing a petition in court to challenge the outcome.

This is our country, and it behoves us all as patriots to engage in activities that enhance the peace and boost development. Elections are not just important in determining who takes over the leadership mantle; they are also an expensive undertaking, hence the need for value for money.

Vote wisely.