In a country where wounds of post-election violence are still fresh, Participation in election process remains a skeptical yet a very crucial exercise.

Recent statistics by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, KNBS, prove that population in Kenya mainly consists of the youth.
The median age is estimated at 19 years, and about 80 percent of Kenya’s population is below 35 years.

However, when it comes to voter turnout, the irony of such statistics takes center stage. The youth more often do not take up the challenge to exercise their democratic right.

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

However, when it comes to voter turnout, the irony of such statistics takes center stage. The youth more often do not take up the challenge to exercise their democratic right.

Nelson Salgano, a final year student at Daystar University Majoring in International Relations, attributes that to democracy being taken out of context.

He argues that majority of the youth show up in polling stations clueless of the impact of the exercise they are about to carry out.

“People do not have a proper civic education; they do not understand the dynamics of voting. Poor and injustice systems has made the youth feel detached from the entire system,” said Salgano.

The youth do not find elections interesting, in fact, majority argue that they would rather engage in different activities such as business, career development among others.

They closely associate politics with the older generation. According to them, there is nothing new about it; same people are always on the ballot paper.

According to Daystar University student leader John Brian Oyaro, although the youth feel that there will be no change after any election, politicians have taken advantage of the situation and therefore, the youth see no gains on their life by participating in the election.

“When people participate in something such as an election, all they want is life to quickly change. But what they get is something constant, or sometimes worse.” Said Oyaro.

Young people associate constant empty promises from our political leaders to their increasing pessimism in matters politics.

The question whether they will soon or later show interests in politics greatly depends on current leadership systems. However, participating in decision making processes such as voting remains unforeseeable.