Election is a cycle. We have come to the end of one that was full of drama and lots of highs and lows for the country. Many stakeholders that were involved have either been evaluating their performance in the 2017 election or have already written and launched their reports and are embarking on implementing their recommendations.
There is a lot of work ahead for every stakeholder on the road towards 2022 as the new election cycle begins. ELOG is a key stakeholder and will be taking its place in the new cycle. ELOG was involved in the August 8, 2017 election and the subsequent October 26, 2017 Fresh Presidential Election (FPE) and its findings were launched early this year. ELOG’s key recommendations set the tone for this edition of Darubini ya Uchaguzi. We outline some of the things that stakeholders need to grapple with in this journey towards 2022. The ELOG recommendations are broad and detailed. There is a felt need to re-engineer several things and Francis A. Aywa makes an insightful case for “re-thinking domestic election observation in post 2017 Kenya.” It is an approach that has been christened “Election Observation 2.0” and it makes for an engaging read.
This is followed up by a compelling read by Javas Bigambo, a governance and communication expert, who also chairs of the Board of Directors of the Youth Agenda. Bigambo discusses the need to “negotiate electoral justice in Kenya through systemic, systematic, legislative and institutional reforms for the common good.” The youth will continue to be an important actor in the election cycle. 2017 was also the year when the youth were really tested. Youth Agenda engaged with them and Susan Mwongera illuminates “the good, the bad and the ugly” in what went on. The Independent Election and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is at the heart of all election cycles. In one of the opinion pieces, IEBC indicated that they are already making plans on what they will be doing in this journey towards 2022.
The election cycle that will culminate with the 2022 date has started in earnest and it will be an engaging one for every stakeholder. Going by the observations and recommendations that have been outlined by participants in this process, there is a lot of work that awaits each and every one. Darubini ya Uchaguzi has captured some of them and kick started the discourse. Let’s engage.