By Victor Bwire
We are returning to routine boardroom deals that determine choices for our people ahead of the 2027 General Election, denying voters the opportunity to choose their preferred political leaders. Political parties are already endorsing candidates for various positions, making genuine democracy a distant dream for many Kenyans. Instead of investing in transparent processes, including party primaries to select candidates for various elective seats, political leaders are brokering deals behind closed doors while publicly preaching the values of free, fair, and democratic elections. If the candidate selection processes are already flawed, heavily influenced, and unfair, how can we expect credible, free, and acceptable elections?
We must ensure that political parties conduct fair, credible, and transparent candidate selection processes in good time to allow for petitions, scrutiny, and public acceptance before the General Election. Otherwise, our elections will increasingly resemble the manipulated processes witnessed in some of our neighbouring countries.
Although negotiated democracy has flourished in some parts of Kenya due to the politics of the stomach, often reinforced by cultural practices, it defeats the very essence of elections. It denies many deserving individuals the opportunity to compete fairly, particularly young people, women, and persons with disabilities. Likewise, members of minority clans and communities are frequently excluded from leadership opportunities. It amounts to dictatorship by the majority, where those with numerical strength gather around negotiating tables, cite their voting blocs, and bargain for political positions. But what becomes of those who never get invited to the table?
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Political realignments, strategy, and coalition-building are part of everyday political life. However, publicly parading leaders to declare how they intend to trade the support of their communities for political gain lowers the standards of our politics. A closer look at many of those involved often reveals the same business, political, and family elites who, since independence, have thrived by manipulating both their communities and the country for personal benefit.
With zoning arrangements, premature endorsements by political parties, and tribal voting campaigns already engulfing the country, what will become of free and democratic elections? Will there be any accountability for electoral offences before the election, as witnessed in cases such as Mbeere North, Kasipul, or Ol Kalou?
As we move towards the 2027 General Election, voters must ask themselves difficult questions about both the leaders seeking office and the political parties they support. Beyond the perception that a candidate belongs to a party associated with one's ethnic community, do we belong to political parties guided by ideologies, values, and principles we genuinely believe in? Or are we merely following individuals because we have seen them displaying wealth, opulence, bravado, and associating with influential people in the media? Do leadership values still matter in choosing our leaders, or have we fully embraced herd mentality?
Voters should also evaluate the performance of tribal kingpins and leaders who were chosen primarily through political or ethnic bargaining rather than individual merit, integrity, and proven leadership. For example, how have governors, senators, and women representatives elected through negotiated democracy in cosmopolitan counties performed compared to leaders who might have emerged through competitive and transparent elections?
Kenya needs strong presidential candidates, governors, senators, MPs, MCAs, and women representatives from every political party, leaders who will genuinely improve the lives of Kenyans rather than individuals endorsed solely by party bosses, clans, or regional political kingmakers. Many regions continue to suffer because of boardroom deals and political horse-trading that deny voters the opportunity to elect the most qualified candidates.
How many politicians and party leaders genuinely consult their supporters before publicly declaring where they have taken their communities politically? The fact that this politics of the stomach continues to dominate public discourse, amplified by extensive media coverage, has denied voters the opportunity to engage meaningfully with party policies, manifestos, and leadership philosophies. Instead of comparing competing visions for the country's future, Kenyans are increasingly reduced to ethnic voting blocs rather than informed citizens making thoughtful electoral choices.
We are perpetuating the dangerous notion that citizens are merely voting machines rather than informed voters capable of making independent decisions based on ideas, competence, and integrity.
Let us build political coalitions founded on shared ideologies, common purpose, and a genuine commitment to servant leadership, not coalitions built around personal gain and the pursuit of political rewards. Those in the opposition should remember that they can negotiate for development projects that benefit their constituents without publicly appearing desperate for political favours or positions. Let us conduct our political manoeuvring with dignity, integrity, and respect, rather than portraying our communities as desperate bargaining chips in the pursuit of power.
Ultimately, Kenya's democracy will not be strengthened by secret boardroom deals or ethnic arithmetic. It will only thrive when political parties embrace internal democracy, voters are allowed to choose their leaders freely, and elections become genuine contests of ideas, competence, and vision. That is the democracy Kenyans deserve, and it is one worth defending.
Victor Bwire is the Director, Media Training and Development at the Media Council of Kenya.
