Kenyans must uphold peace in Tuesday polls – Business Daily
IEBC officials inspect ballot boxes. FILE PHOTO | SAMUEL KARANJA
For all its recent challenges with disputed elections, Kenya remains a shining light for African countries in commitment to representative multiparty democracy.
The country has a well-established tradition of holding elections after every five years, giving citizens of voting age an opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to vote for a President and other leaders of their choice to represent them in the county assemblies and the houses of the national Parliament.
Since the reintroduction of multiparty democracy in 1991, there have been power handovers from the sitting President to a new one after every transition election.
The only blot on our democracy is the cloud of political tension that has tended to hang over every electioneering period. Fortunately, the campaigns for this year’s election have been largely devoid of the hate speech and incitement that were blamed for past election-related violence.
As Kenyans go to the polls tomorrow, we can’t overemphasise the importance of upholding peace enough.
With an economy struggling to recover from the shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the country cannot afford another period of political instability.
We are going into this election with many Kenyans complaining about the rising cost of living. But the situation could get much worse if election-related violence disrupts businesses, causes job losses and scares away investors.
The duty bearers such as the electoral commission and the security agencies must particularly play their role to break the cycle of election violence.
