Residents of Ziwa la Ng’ombe in Mombasa queue during Wiper party Nominations on Tuesday. [Photo/ nation.co.ke]
The ongoing nomination exercise in the country has been marred by violence and conflict.Judging by the few primaries that have been conducted so far, it is safe to say the country is yet to realize democracy and the importance of political parties to a local Kenyan.Is it as a result of multi party democracy? Or it is the greed and ignorance of political partys' leadership?From Naivasha, Migori, Busia and the Coast region, things are worsening with little intervention from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).The electoral body should have collaborated with the political outfits in the planning of the exercise to avert such violence.Though we have heard various statements from the police, civil society and religious leaders, their pleas have bore no fruit with a section of Kenyans expressing fear that the party primaries might be a reflection of what to expect in the August 8 polls.We as Kenyans should reflect the real issues surrounding our politics and come up with concrete answers to what should be done in containing such situations.The Busia primaries were a sign that free and fair nominations are a dream the ODM camp is yet to realize, despite the purported efforts by the party leadership to curb such irregularities.This is the main reason why some politicians aligned to the Orange have opted to decamp to other outfits.The Wiper Party nominations in the Coast region were also marred by irregularities with majority of members raising concerns over discrimination and favoritism by the party's top brass.Most names of aspirants and party members were reported missing from the list, with their complaints being ignored despite being raised several times.IEBC should immediately intervene and provide full guidance on how all party nominations should be conducted so as to avoid the ongoing political intolerance in the country.Secondly, all political partys should work closely with their members and deal with all concerns raised in a bid to ensure transparency and democracy in the nominations.If such steps are adhered to and the party rules followed to the latter, the country will not experience violence whether in primaries or in the general election.Lastly I think the step taken by Wiper Democratic Movement to punish members who allegedly propagated violence during Tuesday's primaries among them Mombasa senatorial aspirant Jabez Oduor and actually pressing charges against him at the Mombasa Law Courts should be emulated by other parties.Since all as Kenyans want peaceful elections, we should not accept any type of violence at this juncture.