MARTIN ANDATI: Mass voter registration will be game changer

If the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission manages to meet their target of seven million, it completely changes the 2022 equation.

You know those who have acquired the identification document and have not registered are about eight or nine million.

The current number in the voters’ register is 19.6 million, so if you bring in six million of the new voters that is over 30 per cent of the vote.

You are changing the numbers as much as 30 per cent, and that is a huge percentage.

Given the majority are youths, Deputy President William Ruto's messaging is better.

ODM leader Raila Odinga is talking about history, about Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and first President Jomo Kenyatta. Those youths are not interested in those things.

He needs to change his message. To capture the youths, he must be able to have a message that resonates with them.

You don’t tell them about history, what Jaramogi did with Kenyatta and how he was detained with Kenneth Matiba.

You know, there are people who don’t even know who Matiba is, so when he tells them that he was detained with Matiba and Charles Rubia they would wonder what he is talking about.

They need to know how you would create opportunities for them, talk more about the future.

Even when Raila was meeting the Mount Kenya Foundation, he spent 75 per cent of the time talking about the past but that is not resonating with the youths. He needs to change.

DP Ruto has some savvy young people who are able to get catchy messages. Remember that is how Jubilee managed to win last elections.

They had very catchy phrases like ‘Digital versus Analogue’ and their messaging was very good, even the dress code.

You don’t go dressing the hard traditional way like suits, that is not attractive to the youths.

Many of the seven million targeted votes do not belong to ODM but former Nasa strongholds. There is no more Nasa and having potential voters does not mean you will get them 100 per cent.

Have they done enough work on social media to appeal to them to go and register because most of them are on social media?

The political analyst spoke to the Star