A wagoner was driving a heavy load along a muddy road. He came to a part of the road where the wheels sank halfway into the mire, and the more the horses pulled, the deeper sank the wheels.
So the wagoner threw down his whip, knelt down and prayed to Hercules the Strong. “O Hercules, help me in this my hour of distress.”
But Hercules appeared to him, and said, “Tut, man, don’t sprawl there. Get up and put your shoulder to the wheel.”
There is nothing that beats proper preparations but even more important is the need to pull your weight on the task given to you.
We are about 10 months to the general election and as it stands, the nation has not received comprehensive reports on election preparedness. Many Kenyans cannot even tell you the calendar of events that will lead up to the 2022 elections.
By now, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission should have given reports on the status of procurement of different items, and even advised if everything is set for the election.
So far, what IEBC has done is complain about the lack of funds, while being opaque on what needs do be done. While Parliament and the National Treasury must ensure the IEBC is properly financed, it is also important that the electoral agency gives the country periodic progress reports.
Earlier this year, the IEBC launched its Elections Operation Plan and Manual detailing what is to be done. However, the plan is just another piece of paper, if the IEBC cannot tell Kenyans on what has been achieved so far.
The low uptake in voter registration that we are witnessing can be attributed to lack of proper updates by the IEBC. Most Kenyans do not know what it is doing. It is thus hard for them to even know what the commission is up to.
IEBC must remember that Kenyans gave it a job and they expect it to be carried out efficiently and effectively without fail. Kenyans expect nothing but integrity of the commissioners and IEBC staff and a properly managed free and fair election in 2022.
There is no room for mistakes from the IEBC whether in the preparations of the elections and the conduct of the polls. The billions of shillings pumped into the electoral agency from taxpayers money should not only be well utilised, but must also be used to deliver credible elections.
The IEBC must also be at the forefront of dealing with those inside the institution who either abuse their offices or are involved in impropriety. The last election had too many shenanigans within the commission, which heavily eroded the confidence Kenyans had in IEBC.
The ghost of the alleged illegalities and irregularities of the last election must be dealt with without fear or favour and should not be allowed to cloud the preparation and conduct of the upcoming poll.
In 2017, Kenyans went to the ballot twice for the presidential election mainly due to the weaknesses of the IEBC. The Supreme Court told us the IEBC failed to arrest illegalities and irregularities in the first round of voting.
IEBC must also keep Kenyans updated and involved on everything it does and this will help build trust. This is also to keep the commission guarded from propaganda and innuendo from those who want to see it fail.
It is also important that MPs also come up with a system of protecting IEBC officials from unwarranted attacks and intimidation from those who lose in elections. There must also be a mechanism to ensure the commission is not affected by resignation of commissioners as witnessed in 2017.
It will clearly be wrong for us to go to the election with a system that is not fully fine-tuned and give losers excuses to put the country in uncertainty. IEBC must lead this process of building confidence in this very important institution.
The writer is a political and communications consultant.
@MachelWaikenda
