Reflections on the Outcomes of National and Local Council Polls, Determinants of Decisions, Lessons Learnt and Wayford

By Hon. Bhoka George Didi

Greetings to you all. I am back from the political frontline as a casualty by choice of the majority of our voters. May their will be done.

In a multiparty democratic society, power to elect leaders at all levels is vested in adults (18 years and above) assumed to be of sound mind. They understand their personal, family, community, and organizational development needs and interests.

Political parties are vehicles through which citizens are supposed to articulate these interests, mainly through party manifestos. Flag bearers of political parties should market these manifestos to citizens during the campaign period so that voters can cast their ballots for candidates and parties that best advance their interests.

Citizens are at different stages in the realization of their hierarchy of needs—from basic survival needs such as food, drink, clothing, and shelter, to self-actualization needs and interests. The choice belongs to them.

Communities in which the majority of citizens are struggling to meet basic needs may not have the time or interest to listen to, understand, or appreciate broader development agendas. What they need now is food, drinks, dance, and kitu kidogo to meet today’s needs. Tomorrow will take care of itself. This reflects the contrast between the politics of survival and the politics of strategic development. May their choice and will be done.

This situation is aggravated by low levels of civic education and limited awareness of the roles of government, communities, and citizens in development. This has created room for misinformation, falsehoods, and manipulation by unscrupulous actors, compounded by the politics of money.

We remain stuck in a narrative of government-led development rather than embracing public, private, civil society, and community partnerships for sustainable development. Every failure in society is blamed on government and the ruling party, often without alternative policy or practical solutions.

To make matters worse, much of the elite and the diaspora—who are expected to mobilize, organize, empower, and guide their people on principles and practices of sustainable development—only become active political commentators during election periods. Thereafter, they retreat to their havens of comfort in the capital and regional cities.

Election outcomes are a product of various factors that shape voters’ decisions and actions, including personal background, family, clan, tribe, religion, profession, political affiliation, security concerns, international relations, geopolitics, and prevailing sentiments.

We should not sweep these factors under the carpet or wish them away. Instead, we must reflect on them and learn from our individual and collective experiences for the greater good of our communities, districts, regions, country, and Africa.

We need to reconcile conflicting and aggrieved parties so that we can forgive and move on from the mistakes we individually and collectively made before, during, and after the polls.

We must rally behind the leaders elected by the majority and give them the opportunity to deliver on their promises.

We should focus on our common interests: peaceful coexistence, unity in diversity, and healthy, skilled, employed, and prosperous citizens living in happy families.

As citizens and followers, we must hold leaders accountable for the promises they made during the campaign period. Some candidates had manifestos; others did not have manifestos tailored to voters’ needs.

A culture of political, social, economic, and environmental accountability must be nurtured at all levels.

Entities such as MACDEF must rise to mobilize, organize, and empower citizens to understand and exercise their civic rights in electing responsible and accountable leaders.

Religious, cultural, civil society, and media institutions must raise their standards and act as neutral compasses for society to ensure the progressive realization of equitable development at all levels.

I congratulate all national, regional, and local leaders who have been elected to serve humanity, and I wish them well during their tenure of service.

We shall judge them by their results, not their words. The time to walk the talk is fast approaching.

May they place community, district, regional, and national strategic interests above narrow family, clan, tribal, religious, and other sectarian interests.

For God and my country.

GDB

The author is the Obongi Constituency MP