Presidential Debate: Raila and Uhuru must be accountable to Kenyans

In the United States, anyone seeking the office of president knows that while they are not constitutionally mandated to appear in televised debates, even a hint of refusal would be political suicide and regarded as the highest form of contempt for the electorate.

However, here in Kenya politicians are taking us for granted. Presidential candidates Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga have said ‘no’ to alive Presidential TV contest that would see them go head to head with other aspirants. Even though the debate will have done little to shift public perceptions of the parties or sway the undecided voters; anybody who truly believes in democracy would not chicken out of TV debates.

Although Presidential Candidates debates, like any other part of the election campaign, are just a tactic, not a prized jewel of our constitution, it serves as a platform for aspirants to account for their actions as well as explain their policies. More importantly, it’s about the image. People who do not feel strongly about the debates in themselves may have their general impression of a candidate changed. Does it make him look afraid to face his opponents? Does it make him look cynical or uncaring towards the voters? Has he got something to hide? Leader image is not just about the leader – if the voters don’t trust the aspirant, it will affect their view of his party and weaken his ability to put across their policies.

It is therefore not wise for Raila and Uhuru to skip the debate. Their decision to hide and avoid the inconvenience of a live broadcast debate suggests a dangerous disregard for scrutiny and it shows contempt to the people of Kenya being denied a basic right in democracy-accountability. President Kenyatta has the advantage of the incumbency. He needs to allow ordinary Kenyans to hold him to account especially with regards to the many slip ups of his administration over the past four years. As for Raila, questions still linger over his one sided corruption crusade while at the same time he needs to face a live audience of Kenyans who are eager to know how he will unite the country if elected.

If the two leading contenders of the presidency don’t feel comfortable with public scrutiny, then the electorate will be heading to the polls without knowing exactly what they stand for and therefore this would mean accountability could become an irregular gift of the government.