KENYA VOTES 2017

The general elections were in Kenya today, on the 8th August 2017.  Voters will elect the President and his deputy, members of Parliament (Senate and National Assembly) and devolved government members (county governors and ward representatives).  The Kenyan Constitution requires there to be a general election on the second Tuesday in August in every fifth year.

This is my second Kenyan election. 

The election in 2013 was an uneventful event luckily, which compared to the 2007 elections (I was not here for them) was needed, watched and necessary.  Ten years ago, the 2007 elections were a terrible blow for the country.  Following the presidential elections in the December of 2007, two months of widespread election-related violence occurred. Approximately 1,500 people were killed and more than 600,000 were internally displaced, many of whom remain in camps.  Kenya experienced disruptions to services such as transport, banking and medical care and shortages of essential items including fuel, food and water during this period.  Travel around the country was restricted due to roadblocks.  Flights in and out of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Wilson and Mombasa airports continued.  However, a number of flights were cancelled due to fuel shortages.  Road travel to and from the airport was frequently restricted or blocked entirely.  Based on what happened in 2007-8, and previous elections, civil unrest was a strong possibility in 2013 and also for these elections in 2017.  For decades, the political elite in Kenya have manipulated ethnic grievances and tribal affiliations to obtain political advantages, a factor that is believed to be the primary cause of the 2007-2008 post-election violence.

A referendum in 2010 established a new constitution and ushered in sweeping devolutionary reforms, including the abolishment of the position of prime minister and the introduction of 47 provincial counties (an increase from the previous count of 7 provinces and the capital Nairobi Area).  The 2013 elections were a very BIG unknown on what would happen after 2007, and super safety was the key word.  A lot of corporations sent their employees out of the country, a lot of people holidayed out of Kenya and Nairobi was like a ghost town.  There were a lot of hiccups with that election, many of the very expensive machines that were bought didn’t work and a lot of polling stations had more than one issue, but after five days, Kenya named its new president and the country moved forward with little or no violence what’s so ever.  The biggest problem was people didn’t want to go to work until the results were released, but a directive from the government 3 days after the election told people to go back to work and the results were released 2 days later.

I am not a political person at all, I didn’t even vote when I was in Australia, EVER.  I was out of the country for my first election in Oz after I had turned 18 and then I just never enrolled, hence I have never voted.  It is compulsory to vote, so if the Australian Electoral Commission ever caught up with me then I would have a fine to pay.  I am going to blame my mum on this as she also never voted, EVER, and I will just have to say that it ran in the family.  Some of my friends are horrified that I don’t use my vote to ‘have my say’ and that if everyone had the same blasé attitude as me then Australia would be in a world of hurt.  Well luckily there are not many ‘outlaw voters’ that I know of back in Oz and I’m now not there so I don’t have to worry.  After the last elections, I had a new found respect for the voting system and what it actually means to each individual.  Not just here in Kenya, but in any democratic country.    The Kenyans wait hours and hours to cast their vote, peacefully.  Seeing the pictures stream in this morning, seeing the lines of voters snaking through fields, down streets and around corners of buildings the turnout as expected is positive.  The people have turned up in large numbers and some people even started lining up at midnight, when the polling booths weren’t to open until 6am.  Now that is dedication and showed me just how proud the Kenyan people are about having their say, making their vote count and think nothing to line up for hours!! The spirit of patriotism and nationalism shines through.  The last election I had friends that were lined up for over six hours!!!  Can you imagine Australians waiting up to six hours to cast their vote, I don’t think so.  This is what humbles me.  I have a born given right to vote in Australia and all my life I have decided not to use it and then here in Kenya it is not compulsory to vote and you have nationals waiting for hours and hours in the hot sun and rain to cast their vote, have their say on who will be the next person to run their country for the next five years.  Each individual feels like it is their national duty, they are helping form their country and when I asked about the runoff (if majority votes aren’t reached) would they go back again to do the same thing and it was a resounding yes, like what a stupid question it was. 

So with the polls now closed all we can do is stay/be optimistic and hope for a violence-free election.  It’s not actually the voting day that we really mean when we say peaceful, it is as the counting starts and the results start to roll in that we want people to stay calm and accept the results. Kenyans want to forge ahead to secure a future, they deserve the chance to vote without fear and elect leaders committed to reform and ready to serve society as a whole rather than the narrow interests of its elites.  For the most part, today’s elections was peaceful as 19.6 million voters turned out to elect the next president, governors, senators, members of parliament, county women representatives and ward representatives.  Well done Kenya and thanks to opening my eyes to something I have taken for granted back in Australia.  I think that not only is it your civic duty to have your say but also patriotic to have a chance on how and who you want to move your country forward, for a better way of life for yourself and the future generations.  I couldn’t vote here, but kudos to all the Kenyans who took the time (and lots of it) to vote and all the best for the next 5 years as your country moves into the future.