The talk across the Coast is whether residents should vote for political parties or individuals. The Coast has a notorious history of voting for parties. In the process, individuals with better credentials, character and superior leadership qualities have been swept aside by the party wave.
In 2013, for example, as long as one ran on the ODM ticket, character or individual leadership qualities counted for nothing. Any candidate with the ODM ticket was assured of winning under the ‘six-piece suit’ slogan. Unfortunately, it brought with it characters of questionable leadership qualities. Many of them have failed to deliver, precipitating the ongoing debate on the merits and demerits of voting parties and not persons.
This experience shows that voting for individuals and not parties is the way to go. Here’s why: First is the absence of a viable Coast homegrown party. Second, Kenyan political parties lack clear ideologies, they only serve as instruments to propel party leaders to power, in particular the presidency. Third, parties are formed to serve a community’s interests.
Essentially, parties are rooted in regions to serve regional interests, and this is where Coast elected leaders have failed their people. I have argued before in this column that if Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho harbours any presidential ambitions, he must rethink his party position. This simply means that he must create his own political party space.
In Kenya, if one is not a party leader, the chances that he will run for president are next to none, even if he runs as an independent candidate. The party leader position enables politicians to compete for positions of their choice.
Therefore, if Coast politicians want the presidency, they must have their own vehicle. The coastal people have been more than ready to vote for their leaders on a homegrown party ticket they can identify with. This was the case with Kadu in the 1963 elections. The party folded in 1964. This should serve as Joho’s starting point in his quest for president in 2022. No matter how much he endears himself to ODM, or any other party for that matter, he shall always remain deputy party leader.
As long as Raila Odinga remains ODM leader, Kalonzo Musyoka Wiper’s and Senator Moses Wetang’ula Ford Kenya’s, Joho’s clamour for the presidency under Cord will be a mirage. No politician in Independent Kenya has willingly surrendered political party leadership to another person to run for the highest office in the land.
This is why the debate on party politics and voting trends in 2017 is healthy for the Coast. If the people want change, which they do, they must drive it through the ballot box by voting for individual candidates, not parties. This region needs to elect dependable, qualified and willing individuals to drive the stalled Coast agenda.
The agenda include unifying the region politically, empowering communities economically, defending and protecting our treasured cultures and the environment and cooperating with the government of the day to address the long-standing historical injustices, including land reform. This is the Coast we want.
In the continued absence of a viable party and a regional leader to unify the Coast, the available option is to achieve the much-desired Coast agenda through the ballot box.