The country is nearing the 2022 general elections. However, there have been claims by different political outfits either claiming that they will rig or be rigged out of the polls thus raising questions on the ability of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) ability to hold free and fair elections.
This should be a cause for alarm for a number of reasons; first off, a successful election process costs the Jamhuri an arm and a leg thus when it’s not credible, the nation loses a great deal on the Return on Investment of such a costly affair.
Again, the country has a history of politically instigated poll violence which often leave such unpleasant experiences that it would even be wiser to be extravagant for credibility’s sake. For why should we hold very expensive quequennial elections when the electorates cannot be told who particularly won an elective position as it happened in the 2007 general elections when the chairperson of the then electoral body openly admitted that he didn’t know who won the presidential elections?
Lastly, election irregularities derail democracy as it leads to voter apathy where voters nolonger see any compelling reason to go all the way to the ballot when some crooks can just sit somewhere and determine those aspirants that win or lose elections.
Avril Dickson, Kakamega