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Nicknames on ballot could discredit polls

IEBC should strictly control the use of nicknames on ballot papers to prevent candidates using crazy names just to draw attention and gain cheap popularity.

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by The Star

Coast13 October 2021 - 14:55
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In Summary


• The Maina bill in the Senate proposes that candidates should be allowed to have their nicknames on the ballot paper

• The Bill gives the IEBC the final authority to approve the use of a nickname by a politician

IEBC sample ballot paper before the March 4 election.

Senator Ephraim Maina has sponsored a Bill that allows candidates to have their nicknames on the ballot paper.

The argument behind the Election Amendment Bill is that voters may know a politician better by his nickname than by his legal name. Therefore allowing nicknames on the ballot paper will enhance democracy and make it easier for voters, especially rural ones, to select the candidate of their choice.

This is certainly true in many cases. For instance, Gideon Mbuvi is much better known as 'Sonko', although he was still elected MP, senator and governor without his nickname on the ballot paper.

Where it may be most useful is with Somali candidates as they are often generally known by their nicknames.

But there is a risk that the indiscriminate use of nicknames could bring the electoral process into disrepute. Candidates might choose crazy nicknames just to draw attention and get cheap popularity.

It is therefore good that the Bill proposes that IEBC should authorise the use of any nickname. The IEBC should ensure that a candidate is genuinely better known by a nickname than by the name on his or her ID card.

Quote of the day: "Prepare for the worst; expect the best; and take what comes."

Hannah Arendt
The German-American writer was born on October 14, 1906

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