Taking stock of the August 9 General Election
Mohamed Kanyare, the IEBC presiding officer who was shot in Eldas constituency at the Wajir County Referral Hospital.
Many events continue to challenge the recent declaration of the August 9 presidential election results, with several revelations being made in public and in court, and relevant proceedings ongoing.
There is usually too much focus on celebrating the winners and commiserating with the losers, forgetting to pay necessary attention to the general effect the election has had on the public, the environment, media, engagement, education and more.
One positive consideration is the effect of democratised access to the media. Many Kenyans have used social media platforms like Twitter and TikTok to share their political analyses through serious and even humorous lenses.
As the years go by, there is the increased use of footage from 10, 20 or more years ago as a wonderful way for the public to engage with history and civic information for better and deeper analysis, which may otherwise pass us by in the usually fast news cycle. This contribution of the public to general political co-education, as well as archive building and use, is notable and commendable.
Second, the environment is a place where we must learn to do things better. It only takes one look around to see that posters of candidates who took part in the August 9 polls continue to litter walls, gates, walkways, bus stops and more. This environmental pollution is unacceptable.
The Registrar of Political Parties, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the National Environment Management Authority and county governments must all get together and formulate policies or laws regarding quick disposal of such campaign material. This way, Kenyans would not have to deal with irrelevant election-related material months after voting.
Near-fatal shooting
The third and much more serious and tragic issue is the safety of IEBC as a workplace. It has become increasingly evident that working at the IEBC can make life quite hazardous. We must solve the puzzle of the killing of IT manager Chris Msando in 2017, the 2022 death of returning officer Daniel Musyoka, the near-fatal shooting of presiding officer Mohameed Qanyare of Eldas Constituency, and the grievous bodily harm IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati was exposed to on the day of the announcement, and several other harmed, threatened, coerced and violated IEBC staff.
Many more measures must be taken to protect these people and their families in the face of such inordinate risk. It is unthinkable that civil servants doing their duty to enable free and fair polls are put in this much danger. A commission of inquiry to urgently deal with this matter would be a good place to begin.
It is thus crucial that these effects of elections on us, both positive and negative, are noted and discussed so that we know where we did not do so well, and further become better at caring for ourselves, each other, our general shared space and outcomes every five-year cycle.
The writer is a Policy Analyst; [email protected]
