LESSONS TO PONDER FROM THE JUST CONCLUDED PRIMARIES

By Isaac Meso

The much awaited party primaries are over and as the dust settles for the various political parties that had filled candidates in various civic posts, I take a position in my political windmill to analyse the various lessons that emerged from what transpired over the weekend during party nominations across the country.

Threat of post election violence is eminent
One of the major lessons that came out especially after what happened in the western part of the country is that despite the tremendous steps taken by the government to get rid of any acts that may lead to violence after election, the threat is still imminent. 

On Friday, the counties of Homabay, Kisumu and Siaya were literally burning, as rowdy youths took to the streets barricading roads and lighting bonfires all in the name of showing frustration over what they termed as favoritism and unfair tallying of votes at the voting centres. At the centre of it all was Dr Oginga Oburu’s challenger for the Siaya County Senate seat, William Oduol, who declared himself winner only for the same to be reversed by the ODM electoral officials.

The violence as a result of party primaries was sporadic as Central and Rift valley regions weren’t spared either. In central, the TNA party primaries were marred with fracas and protest owing to rigging claims by party supporters. This same fate befell URP party primaries in the larger Rift valley region.

Tribal politics is no longer a secret
Another lesson that came out in the open, thanks to the party primaries, is tribal politics. This can be seen in how various parties could fill multiple candidates in the just concluded Primaries. Despite the efforts made by the two political protagonists CORD and Jubilee to appear as parties with a national figure and face, the ethnic dimension of Kenyan politics reared its ugly head again. This could be explained by absence or presence of candidates from these major coalitions in certain areas of the country.

For instance the Jubilee coalition had a strong foothold in the Central, Eastern and Rift Valley parts of the country. CORD on the other hand had remarkable support on the Western part of the country, part of Eastern, Coast and North Eastern provinces.
The voting trend in the primaries, if it is anything to go by, might result in a repeat of what happened in 2007 when the country got polarized into two voting blocks. 

The entrenchment of tribal politics in the Kenyan political landscape partly explains why ODM filled no candidate in the central part of the country and some opting to vie with the wiper ticket. The same case was manifested in the western region with most aspirants vying with the UDF and ODM tickets and shying away from TNA or URP party tickets.

The electorate is no longer a gullible lot
The falling of political demagogues in both the Jubilee and CORD alliances has sent panic in the political realms as politicians struggle to keep their political career afloat at all cost. Big names went down on Friday as they were outwitted by young and new blood in the political scene.

The likes of Finance Minister, Hon Njeru Githae and Gem Member of Parliament lost in the primaries bringing to light the criteria by which the electorate is now using to select their leaders. The days of political thuggery and deceit are long gone as voters are looking for leaders who are going to serve their interest first and bring infrastructural development with little lip service.

As the political parties brace themselves for another gruelling battle come March 4th, what is at the heart of many Kenyans is a peaceful electioneering period and a peaceful transition after that. Anything that falls less of that is to be condemned with utmost ferocity because no Kenyan citizen wants to see a repeat of what happened in the last general election.