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Feature

The Youth Vote: Why Media Should Focus on Them to Register

BY David Indeje · January 17, 2017 04:01 am

The future of every Kenyan citizen whether below or above the age of 18 years for the next five years after the August polls will be for better or for worse shaped those who will have registered as voters before its end on February and turn up to cast their vote.
But what is the importance of the youth as a critical demographic group among registered voters?

According to the Independent Boundaries & Electoral Commission (IEBC), by December 2012 14.6 million voters had registered in readiness for the 4 March 2013 elections.

Ahead of the 2016 General Elections, Before the final phase of the IEBC voter registration exercise, 36 percent of eligible voters had not registered. The electoral body targets 6 million new voters.

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Kenya’s population is 47,911,662 (1950 – 2017) according to World Meters based on the latest United Nations estimates.

Kenya population

The median age is estimated at 19 years, and about 80 percent of Kenya’s population is below 35 years.

For instance, children born between 1998 and 2017 are 19 years old. As per the World Meters estimates,this constitutes 18,902,314 youth. The group makes up 52 percent of Kenyans who are 20 years and below.
For those eligible to vote on 8th August 2017 there are two critical things one must have.  One, a National Identity Card or Passport that enables you to be registered as a voter and two, a voter’s card that you will on 8th August 2017 have to present to the IEBC together with the Identity Card so as to be able to vote.

The registration of voters’ exercise will take a whole month and it is critical that eligible voters who have not collected their new identity cards collect them.  The exercise is the first and crucial step in the holding of free, fair, transparent and democratic elections.  The electoral process as it were starts with the voter registration exercise.

Statistics of voters

Besides, the Constitution of Kenya enacted in 2010 allows for participation of youths in civic matters. Article 55 (b) of the constitution provides that the State shall take measures, including affirmative action programmes, to ensure that the youth have opportunities to get representation in social, economic, political and other spheres of life in the country.

Article 97(1), provides for political parties to nominate twelve members to represent the special interest groups which include the youth.

At the county level, the youth are assured of participation and representation under Article 177 (1) (c) of the Kenyan constitution. Article 21(3) states that all State organs and all public officers have the duty to address the needs of vulnerable groups within society, including women, persons with disabilities, children, youth, members of minority or marginalized communities, and members of particular ethnic, religious or cultural communities.
The 2016 Kenya Youth Survey Report by the Aga Khan University survey to understand the values, attitudes, concerns and aspirations of this critical segment of the population key finding on political participation is that:

“Overall, the youth have positive views about politics and democracy. 90 percent believe it is important to vote, while 70 percent believe they have the power to make a difference. However, 62% of the youth are vulnerable to electoral bribery, with 40 percent saying they would only vote for a candidate who bribed them.

Compared to the urban counterparts, rural males were twice as likely to vote for the candidate who bribed them; similarly, 40 percent more rural women, compared to urban women, would vote for the candidate who bribed them.”


However, based on the numbers and the statistics above, the role of you