Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa [Photo/softkenya.com]
Kiminini Member of Parliament, Chris Wamalwa has downplayed former Budalang’i Member of Parliament, Ababu Namwamba’s assertion that voting to be made compulsory.
Speaking at Citizen TV on Monday, the legislator termed Namwamba’s statement as an avenue for him to seek political relevance after he was floored in the 8th August 2017 general election.
“Ababu Namwamba is seeking political relevance. He jumped ship to Jubilee and now he has started a call for voting to be made mandatory,” Wamalwa told presenter Fred Indimuli.
He further criticized Namwamba’s wisdom in calling for voting to be mandatory yet he has never sponsored legislation to the effect of electoral advancement when he was an elected legislator.
Citing Australia as the only country in the world that has voting as a mandatory exercise for her citizens, the Kiminini lawmaker perceived that it’s a global phenomenal for voting to be an individual’s choice to cast a ballot or stay away. He therefore opined that the call for voting in Kenya to be made mandatory cannot work.
“Australia is the only country in the world that have voting as compulsory. Kenya can’t compare to her because she is more developed, has more advanced infrastructure and her population is smaller than Kenya’s,” said Wamalwa.