Elections are Weird

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Today, the IEBC will announce who the next President of the Republic of Kenya will be. As the nation prepares itself for its new leader, I am provided with an opportunity to reflect on the nature of elections. And I've come to one conclusion; elections are weird. I know, I know. This is hardly a novel conclusion or realisation. But this does not overwrite its importance. Elections are WEIRD. Think about it.

On a single day of voting, an entire nation is supposed to decide who our next leader will be; making a choice that will define our country for the next five years. After campaigns rife with misinformation, double talk and the implicit acknowledgement by all involved - including the voters - that politicians lie, we are provided, at most, 9 minutes to exercise our sovereign power as citizens to participate in the governance of our nation; only to have that power suppressed for the next 2.628 million minutes. With the stroke of a pen, we have the power to elevate a demagogue or, worse still, an ordinary human being (see The Banality of Evil), And this is great! It signifies a devolution of power and diffusion of responsibility that ought to inspire a sense of solemn duty. But it doesn't. In fact, many of us have become numb to this duty and, as a result, dumb to the true meaning of elections. 

Elections are not a hallmark of democracy, they are its outcome. They can only exist if free and fair competition is encouraged, civic education and meaningful participation are facilitated and human rights are respected. Elections are what happens, or rather what ought to happen when a democratic ethos governs society. It is the manifestation of a spirit, not merely an item on the "Democracy 101" checklist. Yet, in modern politics, this is what an election has become; a shadow of democracy. Hence why elections are weird.

This is not an argument to get abandon electoral politics and the democratic spirit they have come to embody. Right now, elections are one of the few ways citizens can pass judgement on their leaders in a way that matters. But this doesn't mean that the way we do it is right. To my mind, elections have become the focal point for disingenuous leaders (looking at you Orban, Putin, Xi Jinping, Erdogan) to proclaim "democracy," while dismantling the accountability elements of democracy and expanding executive power. Additionally, from a procedural standpoint, we could be doing elections better. For example, a first past the post system creates a situation where a leader is elected, despite a significant minority not voting for them. This creates the impression that, these votes are, essentially, 'wasted. Instead, as YouTuber Faniki Deche suggests, we should adopt ranked choice voting - where every person is obliged to rank their candidates in order of preference, that way no vote is wasted and full breadth of political expression is enabled. Or, as activist Boniface Mwangi suggested, include a "None of the Above" option on the ballot to allow citizens, without a preference, to still participate without sacrificing their right, and obligation, to vote. 

In summation, elections are weird. So weird that we need to start thinking of they are capable of fulfilling the purpose for which they were installed. And, if not, how we can change them to better enable and realise the democratic ethos.

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