A youthful Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) observer solemnly walks past neatly arranged transparent plastic ballot boxes at the Kirobon Boys Secondary tallying centre in Rongai constituency, Nakuru County.
He is visibly unhappy as he picks up one of the ward rep ballot boxes and shakes his head to express his anger at the number of ballot papers inside.
“This ballot box is from Menengai West ward, where a youthful candidate was among the contestants, but the ballot papers inside are countable. It means the majority of the youth did not turn out to support even their own,” said Mr Philip Ng’ok.
He added: “This year the youth have been a big letdown. It seems they were only turning out in large numbers during campaign rallies but when it comes to actual voting they are missing in action.”
Mr Ng’ok is the president of the youth in Nakuru County and is one of the observers in Rongai who are shocked at the poor turnout of young voters in this year’s General Election.
According to the IEBC, there was massive voter apathy and slightly over 14.1 million of the 22.1 million registered voters cast their ballots out, with a majority of the youth giving the polls a wide berth.
“The newly registered voters comprising young people did not vote. I believe this is because of lack of voter education and awareness campaigns, poverty and the level of hopelessness among the youth due to lack of jobs, among other factors,” Mr Ng’ok said.
He added: “I visited most of the polling stations in Rongai and most of the voters I saw in the long queues were elderly and repeat voters.”
He said the lack of youthful candidates in this year’s election prompted many youths to shun voting, which is their constitutional right.
The poor performance of young candidates in the first devolution elections in 2013 may also have discouraged young people from seeking political positions.
“After this General Election, we need to start a serious engagement with the youth because if this trend continues come 2027 the turnout will be even more disastrous,” Mr Ng’ok said.
He suggested that the IEBC lead awareness campaigns after every election cycle, instead of waiting until the last year.
Solai MCA-elect Nixon Morogo said party nomination processes are tedious and this is one of the biggest hindrances that keeps young people from participating in elections.
Menengai West MCA-elect Isaac Kiptisya said it was unfortunate that the youth failed to participate fully in this year’s General Election.
He said that of the 19,000 registered voters in his ward, only 11,000 voted.
“This means that in future we are likely not to have young leaders to whom we shall pass on the baton when we complete our tour of duty,” Mr Kiptisya said.
