Almost two years since Kenyans went to the polls and elected William Ruto as President, a survey by Infotrak Research and Consulting has revealed the major reasons why Kenyans did not vote in the 2022 general elections.
According to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), a total of 14,326,751 voters cast their ballots in the presidential election, translating to 64.77 per cent of the 22,120,458 registered voters.
The Nationwide Perception Study December 2024 shows that 27 percent of Kenyans were not interested in the elections.
Another 25 percent were either busy or sick while the same percentage of Kenyans thought that their vote would not count.
According to the survey, 20 percent of Kenyans were not registered as voters while 14 percent lost their identification documents.
5 percent were not in their country of voting while 3 percent refused to respond.
Besides, the survey also outlines the factors preventing citizens from registering as voters.
They include lack of ID Cards (41%), busy schedules (16%), far registration centres (16%) and lack of trust in the electoral processes (15%).
Other reasons include lack of information about voter registration and disinterest in the elections at 10 percent.
Surveyed respondents were divided on whether elections in Kenya reflect the popular vote.
Whilst 33% strongly agreed that the government’s preferred candidate would always win regardless of the vote, another 25% believed that popular candidates despite government preference.
Reasons for Lacking Confidence in the IEBC
Only 26% of the surveyed respondents expressed confidence in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to conduct free and fair elections in 2027.
The majority (54%) were, however, skeptical that the electoral body will conduct the 2027 elections in a free and fair manner.
Lack of transparency (60%), corruption (47%), past irregularities (47%), and lack of independence (19%) are the major causes of lack of confidence in the IEBC.
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Infotrak -Perceived Challenges Faced by IEBC
The major challenges facing IEBC as perceived by the surveyed respondents include external interference (39%), corruption (38%), lack of commissioners (38%), inadequate funding (23%), and inadequate resources (13%).
Other perceived challenges include lack of transparency (0.5%), tribalism (0.3%), they have failed in the past (0.2%) while 2 percent of Kenyans refused to answer.
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Steps to Improve the Electoral Processes
Interventions needed to increase Kenyans’ trust in the electoral processes include are ensuring independence and impartiality of the IEBC (40%), ensuring elections are free, fair and transparent (39%), provision of civic education & sensitization on the electoral process (29%), and prevention of vote rigging at 29%.
Other proposed interventions are increased security to prevent election related violence (24%), improved monitoring of elections (15%) as well as fast and fair resolution of electoral disputes (8%).
The respondents also suggested the improvement of voter registration processes (7%), use the latest technology in voting (0.3%) as well as other options (1%).
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