Kenyan Electorate torn between Political Parties, Manifestos and the reality
Kenya gears itself for its second General Elections after the promulgation of its Constitution in 2010 to elect its 5th president and fill the expanded political elective offices both at the National and Devolved County Governance structures.
Already, there is excitement, heightened expectations and intense jostling for power.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has already disclosed the number of certified voters who will participate in the exercise. On the other hand, the Judiciary is finalising cases brought before it -Jubilee Party and National Super Alliance (NASA) are in court on who should be contracted to print presidential election ballot papers.
As these events happen. Kenyans are in the season of cannibalistic selfishness where it is me, me, me and my tribe, my tribe my tribe. This is the season of political fantasies, fraud, hypocrisy and impunity. It is as if nothing else matters but politics.
For the electorate who is now consuming a lot of information from politicians touring their neighbourhoods, they are at a crossroads.
The question is? Besides the political rhetoric, what do they have that will help them pierce the smokescreen, the veils, the masks of political parties and individual politicians parading before them and shouting how they are the best recipe once elected to be the agents of transformation of their communities, counties and the country?
How will they make choices as to which political party or individual politician to vote for through a rational process of examining the pros and cons of each alternative on the political platform?
How will each voter prick his or her conscience, undertake a meticulous scrutiny of the offers in the political arena before he or she makes a decision?
The answer comes in different ways.
“The most important documents to this end are the party constitution,manifesto and any other party position papers,” according to Prof. Karuti Kanyinga in Kenya, Democracy and political Participation.
“Most parties are also not formed along ideological lines, but rather on a given leader’s ambition to win elections,” he adds.
Kanyinga argues that a critical look at the various party manifestos and other policy documents in Kenya reveals striking and remarkably similarities. “Most if not all, political parties in Kenya espouse the tenets of social democracy. however, these tenets are rarely put into practice and remain only in paper.”
“Furthermore, even where such party manifestos exist, they never form the backbone of the campaign strategies and platform. only major parties in each election year develop manifestos outlining the policies and programmes that they intend to implement once in office,” says Kanyinga.
IEBC cleared President Uhuru Kenyatta of Jubilee Party, ODM’s Raila Odinga, Cyrus Jirongo of the United Democratic Party (UDP), Ekuru Aukot of Thirdway Alliance, Abduba Dida of the Alliance for Real Change (ARC), and Independent candidates Joseph Nyagah, Michael Wainaina and Japheth Kavinga.
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