The Forgotten Voting Constituency In Kenya

The much-publicized voter registration will be coming to an end on the 14^th of February 2017 which also happens to be the Valentine’s Day; a day of love.

Only four days are remaining to the end of the registration exercise with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission ruling out any possibilities of extending the deadline.

Politicians have been all over the country, convening political rallies, within and without buildings, shouting their lungs out, telling their perceived ‘staunch supporters’ why they should register as voters and why they should pick them as the ‘best choice’ to drive this country to the ‘next level.’

As the shouting contest to try and woe voters goes on between the ruling party Jubilee and the main opposition Coalition for Reforms and Democracy, CORD, the number of those who have responded to their call and registered is just meagre.

There is a group of people that politicians seem to have forgotten and the IEBC seem to have to clue about. Of all the noise made and the advertisement being channeled out both day and night, this group has not been reached, and, in fact, the group seems to be aloof of what is going on.

Am talking about the group of young people who were born from the year 1995. Children of yesterday, you may call them that way. These are the young people who consult their smartphones more than anything else and whose main role model is found nowhere within the political class and perhaps not even in Kenya. These are the young people who can sing a whole album of Rihana or Chris Brown without any reference and can recite any hip-hop song more than they do for their books.

This group doesn’t know the real meaning of politics. Well, they know the spellings but nothing beyond that. They never even watch news, leave alone advertisements. What they know is music, artists and innuendos on artists and other funny stuff, not politics. Explaining to them the meaning of politics is like trying to explain to them Mary conceived despite the fact that she was a virgin and why it is not captured in biology books they may have read in schools.

Now, I have watched our politicians roaming all over telling people to register. I have watched IEBC running some boring adverts with Kura Yako Maisha Yako and I have also watched the same IEBC lamenting about the number that has come out to register. Surely, how can you tell someone who has no idea of what is going on to register as a voter when even the dude doesn’t know what voting is all about.

IEBC, it is high time you changed your approach to issues. This country is not made up of old people alone. In fact, the majority are the young. You need to change strategy and see how to reach them and give them a reason why they should do so.