It's campaign season once more, high noon for the charlatan and the swindler,
the lies are out in full force, and we the people; we the people are their
shield and defender. This is democracy.
The idea of democracy causes hearts to
flutter and we fancy ourselves communicants of an advanced expression of
civilization, conjoined with the world of civility and laws. Most of us,
whether directly or by proxy participate every five years in that most communal
of our rituals, the General Elections.
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last man standing
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Ours are coming in two months, and in their run-up is an
opportunity to interrogate our political system, is it democratic or are we
merely caught up in the aspirational tug that has taken hold across the world?
What freedoms does it impose on us, and what are the burdens that come with
those freedoms?
All around the world, democracy is the buzzword of our
times, the bulwark against backward barbarism and the signpost that signals
mankind's triumph in the trudge towards Fukuyama's
end of history. Democracy started the 1990s by felling the Iron Curtain. In the
next ten years she had challenged many a steely grip of an ageing African
strong man and even where the fasces prove unyielding, like in Egypt
or Swaziland
she won a few concessions from the hardest hearts.
Through the ages, democracy seems to have meant different
things to different people. From the Athenian ideal, to the German Thing and
the Icelandic parliament, she rode the waves of time. Facing down the Nazi
threat, 1940s America
considered herself a democracy as did her polar opposite, the East German state
in the post-World War II settlement. So far removed however, is that America
or the Stasi state from the 1990s Sweden
or present day Tanzania
that it is clear there are perhaps as many definitions of democracies as there
are political systems. The word has become more of a shibboleth and an
aspiration than a description of political organization.
At its core true democracy represents more than a simple
declaration of the rule of the majority. It is more than just the idea of
elections. Democracy is a hard struggle, demanding of us effort and values that
may not come to us by nature. It does certainly include regular elections, in
which all the adults of legal age can participate both by offering themselves
up as candidates and as electors. For a system to be considered democratic, its
candidates list must be uncompromised and unimposed, the electoral process must
be free of such impediments as race discrimination and financial expense that
would put off members of the citizenry from participation.
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one man one vote your decision
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In our Kenyan expression, we seem to qualify on regular
elections and universal adult suffrage. However, on the second of those scores
we do not seem to have paid any mind. All four presidential candidates
(including Pius Muiru) seem to either have imposed themselves on their parties
or else been victors in what were co-endorsements by other candidates dropping
out at the finishing line. The wananchi are thus presented only with a
list and asked to choose from a limited and compromised list of candidates. The
two main candidates have used public office to enrich themselves and their
families; the third (along with the other two) is a former cheerleader of a
regime that brought great anguish and poverty to Kenyan society.
The institutional mechanisms of choice-elections- are based on the
unhindered conveyance, both at election time and outside of it, ideas from
which the voters get to choose. These ideas can be advanced by groups of
individuals in political associations that retain their full autonomy from the
state. For a system to be democratic, the media must guarantee free discussion
space and the uncensored distribution of news. More than this, the media must
seek out deeper answers from the public, availing as much information as
possible for the decision making process. Information must be free. Every voter
must be free, beyond the offering doled out by the media, to seek out
additional information.
The media in turn, must not wage an unjust crusade against a candidate or
idea, and neither ought it to promote a particular candidate or view. Its
protagonists must have an equal opportunity to persuade the electorate to
consider their views. This same press must also work to give the electorate all
the information needed to assess the performance of its representatives and
agents. When citizens make decisions without full information, they are mere
pawns in the politicians' hands, and we have what has been called a ruler-ship
of lies.
On these criteria, our political system has certainly taken giant leaps
forward. But this is only with regard to the lack of outright bias. The media
still seems to have little appetite for a discussion of the real issues. The
notion of neutrality has been taken so far that the media elects to stand by
and let falsehoods persist as truths. For example, no one in the media seems to
have yet thought to ask what the cost of Majimbo will be, or even to
look at the different ideas on Majimbo or to conduct a cost/ benefits
analysis of the implementation of these ideas. The result has been that on a
whole plethora of issues, the public are defenseless lambs under the onslaught
of the rapacious wolves. This is especially necessary for our country because
many Kenyans cannot even if they wanted to find this out for themselves.
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groping in the dark
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But more important than the ritual of elections, democracy is the struggle
of the majority to control their urge to dominate. This is the burden of
democracy; it impels a society to the awarding of such rights to the minority
population as are available to the rest of the population. It protects the
freedoms and liberties of its citizens and affords them due process in all
matters of the law. The citizens of a democracy are free to speak their mind
provided such speech is not incendiary or slanderous; they have the right to
freedom and protection from harassment or incarceration without reason of law,
they have the right to own property anywhere in their country without
discrimination. All punishments are prescribed by a court of law in accordance
with pre-set guidelines, and not ad hoc rulings from on high. At these
trials the accused party is permitted the benefit of legal representation, and
the right of appeal. Punishments are within the bounds of human rights. Laws in
democracies are widely known and no citizen can be punished for an act that was
not illegal at the time of commission. All those accused are presumed innocent
until found guilty.
With all the tribal talk clouding the election atmosphere, we are clearly
failing on most of these counts. Perversely, the urge for Majimbo has
led to a situation where the previous majority may be ganged up on by the rest
of the country and a system of government imposed on it against its will. The
campaigns are increasingly intolerant, and many Kenyans feel unable to express
their political opinions in regions where the dominant persuasion is different
than the one they take. Whether it is booing, beatings or the disruption of
rallies (both by the authorities and by the public) it is every Kenyans right
to take his political message where he would like to without any impediment.
Property rights across the country are likely to be challenged unless Majimbo
is very radically re-thought and its anti-Gikuyu spirit checked. It is most
important that the PNU on its part realise that there is a very real need to
both be seen and felt to be running an inclusive government and resource
distribution programme. Democracy is everywhere threatened by perceptions of
exclusion. When whole communities feel themselves outside of the executive's
embrace, then they have no reason to place themselves under the democratic
contract.
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Lawmakers in a democracy are constrained by the bounds of decency and
fairness in all their decisions. The governments they form are defined as
democratic not just by how they are put in office, but more importantly by the
possibility of their removal. Without a system of accountability democracy is a
farce, and the electoral process is futile. Candidates in a true democracy
cannot promise what they do not intend to deliver, they cannot propose to do
away with the democratic rights of others or alter the form of government in a
fashion as would defraud the citizens of their natural rights. The legitimacy
of this government is derived not just from the election and a fair victory,
but from the adherence to the system of just and fair government. The citizens
on their part must hold their representatives to account, replacing them
whenever a better option is represented and asking questions of their promises.
The easily excitable citizen, the one that votes without judgment or
consideration is unworthy of his ballot, and in every way a danger to
democracy. His vote jeopardizes the long term health of the democracy as his confirmation
or denunciation of a government rewards incompetence or act as a disincentive
to good governance.
In our particular example, we must ask that the parties at
the election do not merely promise gifts to the electorate, but act prudently
in the interests of the long term health and prosperity of Kenya.
Are new districts for example sustainable? Are the proposed Majimbo
feasible? What will greater CDF payments mean and what will these be used for?
What has your MP done with his CDF and does it make him worthy of your
continued support? Have the government's programmes improved your life? Is it
reasonable to propose that disrupting these efforts will benefit you at all? Do
the corrupt and undemocratic histories of any candidates declare them unfit for
public office? The Kenyan who approaches the election without considering these
most crucial questions, the voter who does not insist on understanding the more
arcane concepts of the campaign platforms is reckless and immature; and with
his every action takes us closer to a situation where we stand to lose our
right to vote.
And this great list is the curse of democracy; it is the
very reason why in many parts of the world democracy is a mirage. From the
electoral process, down to the consequences of poor government, democracy is
coming apart at the seams. If we are to avoid tyranny and mayhem, we must wield
our votes wisely, not to settle tribal grudges, not to validate unfair
portrayals, but to promote government that is just and good, and beneficial to
the long term future of the Republic.
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Those like Anyang' Nyong'o preaching revolutions and aspiring to be new Che Guevaras are clearly not democrats, and neither is the system that allows only the rich and corrupt to vie for the most important political offices. Does any one of us suppose Justin Muturi could become President? Could Raphael Tuju? COuld Joe Khamisi? This is not democracy it is a farce, and though we willingly participate in it, it seems to me we must everyday do something to change it.