New voters card is the only way your opinion will matter

By Njoki Ndung’u

The first time I registered as a voter, I was an eager young activist, looking forward to exercising my inalienable democratic right to vote. Of course, then, still in the one-party State of the Moi regime, there were few choices between the good, the bad and the ugly. But I still remember the pride and deep patriotism I felt when I received my inaugural voter’s card. The ID and voter’s card in those days were regularly denied to many young people in certain areas to disenfranchise them.

Similarly, many married women were and still are disenfranchised due to the stringent and unreasonable conditions placed upon their acquiring an ID and consequently their ability to get a voter’s card.

The registration of voters, the national voters’ register and other processes that make for free and fair elections were key among the issues that fuelled the calls in the early 1990s for democratic change through a new constitutional order. Constitutional amendments made in 1990 and 1997, however, did little to address the electoral reforms and attempts to do so in August of 2007 through an essential package of reforms in Parliament failed. The status quo created a fertile ground for gross electoral malpractices that resulted in the tragic aftermath of the December General Election.

The Johann Kriegler Commission set up to probe the conduct of those elections found massive irregularities, inter alia, the presence of many deceased voters who were nevertheless found to have ‘voted’. The Commission recommended the disbanding of the Samuel Kivuitu-led Electoral Commission and the discarding of the national voter register in favour of a new electoral body and a fresh register of voters. Parliament adopted these recommendations and expunged the existing register of voters, rendering your voters’ card and mine obsolete.

So this week, I went about making enquiries with the Interim Independent Electoral Commission as to the location of the polling area where I should register as a voter again. While speaking with the electoral officials I discovered that the much-publicised drive to register voters has only resulted in a slow trickle of interested citizens. There are no queues and only weeks to the cut off deadline to register, most Kenyans appear stricken with an acute bout of apathy. The seemingly underlying reason for this is the trauma caused by the post-election violence and Kenyans’ consequent disengagement from political processes. However a subsequent quick study from discussions with friends and acquaintances reveals that there are many other causes for disinterest in voter registration. World over, Kenya not excepted, voter apathy or fatigue is responsible for low voter turnout and occurs for a number of different reasons. Some would be voters do not care to educate themselves on the issues and feel their vote is not worth making, others are simply not interested, no reason given. There are also those who can’t be bothered to spend time queuing and physically voting, while some people feel their vote will not count, as they think the election has already been won by one side. A few don’t register to vote in protest, inadvertently ensuring those they protest against will use their votes to make their point. Of course, and most interestingly, it is mostly the people who don’t vote who complain, criticise and condemn the issue or person on which the vote was taken. Speaking at several engagements, to such minded persons, I have pointed out that there is a direct correlation between voting and representation. Frankly, it is quite useless to complain about a politician or an issue if you did not bother to vote for them or against it. Voting determines legitimacy and confers political authority, whereas failure to participate in elections essentially means surrendering the right to influence how that

authority is determined.

Take the constitutional review for example; as the supreme law of the land, the constitution impacts heavily on how we are governed and by whom. It has a bearing on our private and social lives. It is, therefore, important to utilise the opportunity to be consulted when deciding the content of the document as is envisaged by the upcoming referendum. The new voter’s card will be the only valid ticket to the referendum. Considering the emotive history of this

country’s search for a new constitution, it is conceivable Kenyans will manifest different opinions of the Proposed Draft Constitution. The referendum provides the only legal and influential vent for the opinion of the ordinary citizen on the document. Without the new voters card, the right and opportunity to exercise this right will be forsaken and ownership of the outcome of the referendum vote will belong to others.

The importance of the new voter’s card goes beyond the referendum. It will be a necessity for participating in future presidential, parliamentary and civic elections or by-elections. It is through the popular election of leaders through a genuine and competitive process that we, voters, consent to be governed. We can’t do this if we are absent. If we are serious about participating in the running of this country and wish to invest in its future, we all need to go and get our new voter’s card. Now.