Stakeholder Engagement Forum Between IEBC And Youth-led Organisations

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is an independent body charged with conducting free, fair and transparent elections in Kenya. As such, the Commission is responsible for conducting or supervising referenda and elections to any elective body or office established by the constitution, and any other elections as prescribed by an Act of Parliament.

In particular, for; The continuous registration of voters and revision of the voter's roll; The delimitation of constituencies and wards; The regulation of political parties process; The settlement of electoral disputes; The registration of candidates for elections; Voter education; The facilitation of the observation, monitoring and evaluation of elections; The regulation of money spent by a candidate or party in respect of any election; The development of a code of conduct for candidates and parties; The monitoring of compliance with legislation on nomination of candidates by parties. The commission exercises its powers and performs its functions in accordance with this constitution and national legislation.

Kenyan youth have been disconnected and disengaged with political processes and electoral participation, and this has caused widespread apathy among young voters. Research before the 2017 elections shows that the majority of Kenyan youth show up in polling stations clueless about the impact of the exercise they are about to carry out.

They do not have access to sufficient civic education resources; they do not understand the dynamics of voting. Poor and unjust systems have resulted in Kenyan youth feeling detached from the entire system. Further, the political landscape in Kenya has not been very accommodating to young voters as it is full of ethnic balkanization and divisions that often cause youth to turn away.

In addition, young people typically do not sufficiently understand their constitutional rights and responsibilities. As a result, many do not feel that they have a role to play in the elections and governance of the nation. Our project aims to develop voter and civic education that will help to transform youth mindsets in civic matters. During elections, young aspirants are easily persuaded to step down for older aspirants who have money and more experience, therefore the youth do not participate.

Previous experience in Kenya has shown that voter education only happens a few months before elections and not any time after. 2017 saw accreditation of organizations for voter education taking place just 3 months before the elections, and this time is not sufficient to reach out to a larger percentage of the youth.

Also, a less voter educated youth is a fertile ground for political manipulation and violence. This has led to youth who are not aware of their voting rights and or of the importance of getting involved meaningfully in electoral processes. Research done by the National Democratic Institute on the 2017 elections suggests that only 20% of the members of the 11th parliament were women, far below the required threshold. This project will also reach out to women and other marginalized groups.

With the hit of the COVID-19 pandemic, a mass of the population relocated to areas far from their assigned voting stations. There is, therefore, a need to address the change of polling stations without the requirements of going back to one's official voting center for a recommendation letter. Another notable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was the drag in the education system, proving that some high school students are eligible voters. The voter registrations, however, took place when these students were in class. Therefore, most eligible voters will not exercise their electoral rights due to a lack of accountability for some of these considerations.

Only 1.5 million Kenyans have registered as new voters against the set target of 4.5 million. IEBC had targeted at least 6 million new voters but an analysis of the number of eligible voters as shown by the latest population census, the number of people who have attained voting age and unregistered people show a figure of about 9 million potential new voters. Of these, IEBC had targeted to register 6 million young people who have attained voting age in the past five years. The registration of six million new voters will raise Kenya's total voters register to 23.6 million, up from 19.6 million in 2017.

IEBC Collaboration with youth serving organizations (YSO’s) will provide young people with a forum to fully and effectively deal with issues important to them during the electioneering period. The inclusion of youth idealisms in this collaboration will reduce the possible outcomes of politically incited wars and violence and enhance young people's skills needed to influence the forthcoming general elections.

The youth serving organizations are critical in mobilizing and organizing the young people in their networks to register and exercise their duty to vote. Given the distrust in the political leaders and government institutions, the YSO’s are in a better place to spearhead the civic education to combat the widespread apathy among voters in their networks. Many youth organizations work in the governance, civic and accountability space, and they are critical in encouraging the young people who are the bulk of the voting population in Kenya to exercise their democratic right. YSO’s also have grassroots networks that can be activated to ensure that voter apathy is countered and civic education is conducted.

The Youth Cafe’s overarching goal around youth inclusion and participation in politics is to increase the number of informed youth participating in the upcoming 2022 elections in Kenya, as well as increased participation of marginalized groups like women in the elections. The objectives of our programming on youth and the 2022 elections include to:

Enhance credible and reliable information regarding electoral and political processes available to youth in Kenya.
Increase Kenyan youth participation in the 2022, and later, elections through re-introducing them to the democratic participation tools that they have at their disposal and encouraging them to more actively take part in electoral processes.
Create long-term, evidence-based, social media strategies, and in-person training curriculum materials that will incorporate comprehensive civic education for Kenyan youth on democratic processes and then better understand their democratic and civic rights.
Develop education approaches on voting rights and the roles of youth in peaceful elections through advocacy campaigns, whereby youth lobby for 2022 Kenya elections that are violence-free and not manipulated through social media.

As such, The Youth Café is part of the Youth Coordinating Committee (YCC) working with the IEBC to drive voter education and enhance the voters registration drive. The YCC is made up of various youth led and youth serving organizations and convened by the IEBC for a period of 2 years.

The members of the YCC are tasked with having continuous engagement with the youth throughout the election cycle to ensure they are well informed of the civic and democratic rights. The members are also tasked with mobilization through youth forums, where they get to conduct awareness of the electoral processes. The YCC will also work hand in hand with the IEBC and National Youth Council to come up with youth friendly programs and strategies to ensure that the electoral processes are not flawed. Furthermore, these programs are highly essential to ensure rigorous voter education up to the grassroot level.

The YCC leadership is composed of Joel Mwita as the Chairperson, Nerima Wako-Ojiwa as the Vice Chairperson, Maureen Amuhinda as the Secretary, Hesbone Ndungu as the Liaison Officer, Murithi Muchemi as the Communications and Digital Engagement Officer and Wilkister Aduma as the Resource Mobilization and partnerships officer.

In addition, the YCC leadership has two ex officio members from IEBC and the National Youth Council. We hope that the YCC will be able to help in the push to ensure that the young people are registered as voters, and also commit to actively participate in the party primaries and consequently in the general elections.

During the meeting, The Youth Café recommendations to the IEBC included:

Implement continuous civic education programs during the five-year electoral cycle, despite socio-economic factors that act as barriers to participation by young people. Topics should include: Roles and responsibilities of elected and nominated officials, with a focus on the different government positions; Opportunities for public participation and civic engagement; Constitutional provisions related to increased youth and women’s participation; Provisions in the Election Campaign Financing Act.
Use of technology and activities, such as the internet, social media, sporting and related events and the use of music and other forms of entertainment to engage in public issues and with policy makers is a viable option for increasing the participation of young people. Use of avenues such as tiktok, twitter hashtags and Facebook due to their vast accessibility by young people.
Replicate and enhance successful public outreach strategies utilized in the 2017 election throughout the five-year electoral cycle, especially those relating to youth (SMS, billboards, road shows).
Implement an annual youth-friendly education campaign to raise awareness among youth that voter registration is continuous, with guidance on how and where to register during periods outside of mass voter registration activities.
Implement IEBC interactive consultations with community members postelection to solicit feedback on accessibility and on administration of electoral processes.
Enforce compliance with the Electoral Code of Conduct and hold violators accountable. Include a specific reference to gender-based violence as a punishable offense in the code; Support the creation of an enabling environment to lodge complaints when violations of the code occur with a focus on complaints relating to violence against women and instances of vote bribery.
With security forces and political parties, create an environment where women feel safe throughout the entire electoral cycle, especially during political party primaries and campaigns.
Set standardized rules and guidelines for the nomination of candidates that are transparent and in place in sufficient time to inform parties and the electorate.
Implement background checks to ensure that members included on political party lists meet the criteria for special-interest groups.
Coordinate closely with the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties to enhance effective oversight and enforcement of party compliance with constitutional provisions related to youth and women political participation.
Implement measures to ensure that all poll workers have an opportunity to vote on election day.
Continue and enhance efforts to hire youth poll workers, incorporating opportunities for youth to advance in levels of responsibility as IEBC staff.
Implement a feedback mechanism, both online and in person, after voter verification to inform registered voters when their registration details are corrected.
Since many eligible voters are not registered, the IEBC is encouraged to allow citizens to vote using their national identity cards rather than the preferred voter's card.
Lifting of Information and communication barriers by utilizing the role Mass media plays in shaping public opinion. Therefore, reversing the lack of information accessibility that robs young people of the opportunity to participate in civic life.
The IEBC can consider adopting mobile polling stations for all elections to address the accessibility needs of young persons with disabilities. Polling officials should also prioritize persons with disabilities, young and old, in voting queues.
A multifaceted approach is required that covers all areas of the electoral cycle. Action activities are also needed in the pre- and post elections period as part of a longer-term continuing strategy. i.e. considering youth as voters, as electoral contestants and as election managers.
Changes in legislation to affirm representation; differential registration processes; specific and targeted resources for youth participation, voter education and continued participation of youth as observers; and monitoring mechanisms to secure the implementation of strategies.

The Youth Café works with young men and women around Africa as a trailblazer in advancing youth-led approaches toward achieving sustainable development, social equity, innovative solutions, community resilience and transformative change.