Election fraud is to blame for voter apathy, say activists

Fraud and violence associated with elections in the past are to blame for voter apathy amongst the youth in Kenya, civil society organisations have said.

The 20 CSOs, which came together to form the Angaza Movement launched on Tuesday at Tononoka Hall in Mombasa, said this year’s election is significant and Kenyans must get it right this time.

Voter apathy is a lack of interest among voters in the elections of representative democracies. It is usually characterised by low turnout among eligible voters and among potential voters in registration.

“We hope that this election will be a transformative one because if we don’t get it right, the likelihood of going back to even pre-2007 and pre-1992 existence is real,” Crown Trust executive director Daisy Amdany said. 

Angaza Movement is a campaign that will aggressively sensitise Kenyans on electoral justice.

It seeks to foster electoral integrity and transform political leadership in the country with a view to harnessing the country’s potential through political and electoral reforms.

The movement, according to Muslims for Human Rights executive director Marie Ramtu, brings together national and grassroots CSOs and was launched as a result of lessons learnt in the 2017 electioneering period.

“What we want in 2022 is to have a better electioneering process. We want more transparency, more accountability, the rule of law followed and respect for human rights,” Ramtu said at Tononoka Hall in Mombasa during the launch of the movement.

This is more so at the Coast, Ramtu said, adding that the economic and historical injustices in the region have affected a majority of people.

“We want to empower voters and encourage voter registration so that we are able to bring substantial change. We want to have impactful leadership that actually serves the people and not itself,” Ramtu said. 

InformAction, a human rights organisation that uses film as a tool of social change, said they will be working with other CSOs in Angaza to document electoral irregularities and find ways to have them addressed.

Executive director Winnie Masai said they will be highlighting issues like National ID issuance considering that IDs are key to voter registration and voting.

“We want to see, for example, how is the issuance of the IDs? Do other regions considered pro-government get preferential treatment and other considered anti-government treated badly?” Masai said. 

The InformAction executive said they will also be monitoring party primaries, which traditionally have been shambolic in Kenya.

“There is a lot of bribery, violence and such things whose by-products are people who are not necessarily credible getting into leadership,” she said.

Haki Yetu Organisation executive director Father Gabriel Dolan said elections are important because they provide an opportunity to change leadership for the better.

However, he said, many Kenyans are tired of elections because of the fraud and the violence that come with them.

“That is why there is voter apathy. They do not want to register as voters or vote because they don’t see any change. Corruption is still ongoing,” Father Dolan said. 

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission on October 4 last year launched a 30-day enhanced voter registration exercise in preparation to the 2022 general election.

The commission targeted six million new voters across the country but by the end of the exercise on November 5, only a paltry 1.4 million new voters had been registered.

The electoral body has began a second mass voter registration process running from January 17 to February 6.

Father Dolan on Tuesday encouraged youth to register as voters and vote out corrupt leaders and bring in fresh leadership with integrity.

He said there are projects in Mombasa which raise questions marks such as the Mombasa International Stadium, which had a Sh1.2 billion wallet allocated to it, but with nothing to show for it.

“It is time to bring in new leadership with integrity and flash out the current one. We are tired of theft of public money.

“We should be responsible otherwise we will continue [complaining] if we do not take action now, starting with the MCAs,” the Irish priest said.

Kenya Human Rights Commission’s Irene Tilila said there is need for Kenyans to do the best for themselves.

“As National Assembly Speaker (Justin) Muturi said, it is the garbage that we give ourselves that translates to the garbage of results that we get,” Tilila said. 

She added there is need to mobilise communities to look out for their own interests in terms of development.

“Development is key in our country but we are not seeing it. We see a lot of political interests and not the interests of the citizens themselves,” Tilila said. 

Human rights defender Khelef Khalifa said Kenya has never had a free and fair elections since independence.

He said, sadly, the main reason is the voting pattern in the country which is largely ethnic-based.

“We do not vote on ideological bases but on ethnic grounds. This has to stop,” Khalifa, who is the Muhuri chairperson, said.

The effects of ethnic voting are usually felt by majorly the poor, he said, adding that tribal clashes are usually experienced in areas inhabited by poor people.

“You will never hear tribal clashes in Runda, Nyali, Vipingo Ridge, Milimani or any other posh area. You will only hear them in Kibra, Mshomoroni, Kondele, and such places.”

He added those who organise violance usually stay in their posh homes while leaving their gullible followers to fight one another.

“There is need to sensitise Kenyans to vote on ideological bases with regard to the rule of law,” Khalifa said.

Amdany asked Kenyans to join the Angaza Movement to help them reclaim their country.

She said elections will be held whether 40 million Kenyans vote or only three do therefore getting registered and voting is a must if Kenyans want change for the better.

Amdany said the movement seeks to ensure more inclusion of women in leadership, observance of the two-thirds gender rule and respect of court orders. 

She encouraged women to take part in the election not just as voters, but as aspirants as well.

“We have a Constitution only on paper. We need to see it being implemented,” Amdany said. 

“We want to see people being barred from participating in elections because of not adhering to the laid down rules and regulations or not meeting the threshold."

(edited by Amol Awuor)