The Vote Is Power If You Use It Wisely
Too often, we have taken elections to be some sort of ritual or chore rather than the decisive act of self-determination that it is. The vote has power. And we should remember this always. Voting is not just about picking names on a ballot; it is one of the most powerful tools a citizen has to shape the trajectory of their country.
Across Africa, the vote remains the only peaceful and legitimate mechanism through which people can demand accountability, push for development, and determine their future.
Yet that tool only works if it is used thoughtfully, independently, and en masse. If anything is to go by, the recent by-elections in Kenya illustrate both the fragility and potency of this power.
What Recent By-Elections in Kenya Reveal
On 27 November 2025, by-elections were held in 22 electoral areas across Kenya. Either by design or circumstance, we only heard more of the hotly contested constituencies of Kasipul, Malava and Mbeere North.
Let us take Kasipul, for example, of the 67,513 voters registered, only 31,323 cast ballots, representing a turnout of about 46.4%. Despite this unsatisfactory turnout, the process was marred by violence, intimidation, clashes and widespread reports of “goons” disrupting polling stations and using crude weapons.
In Malava, there were arson attacks and violent threats against a candidate, while in Mbeere North, tensions rose even inside polling stations. The deployment of security agencies, both uniformed and plain-clothed, stood as a testament and acknowledgement by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) that tension was expected.
A lot of observers have argued that what we saw on the 27th of November was but a microcosm and a testing ground for the larger national contest coming in 2027. If true, then all is but doom.
But let us not forget the fact that the people still showed up despite the fear, confusion, and risk. However, we cannot overlook the dangerously low turnout, which was under 50 % in most polling stations. Such a low turnout undermines the very idea that democracy is of, by, and for the people.
Why Voter Apathy, Intimidation and Violence Undermine Progress
In most situations across Africa, we witness intimidation and violence during election periods, often culminating in low turnouts. These acts corrupt the electoral process in three interlinked ways:
First, they weaken the “social contract” we sign with our leaders during elections. When fewer than half of registered voters show up, the mandate given to winning candidates is thin. That means the winners can no longer claim that they represent “the majority of the people”, only a minority. That weakens their legitimacy and erodes accountability.
Secondly, they facilitate manipulation by powerful interests. When voting is marred by violence or coercion, or when election day becomes chaotic, those with money, muscle or influence (goons, political operatives, or “security” forces) gain an advantage.
Thus, the outcome becomes less a reflection of people’s real desires and more a result of force or fear. The recent by-elections in Kasipul, Malava and Mbeere North appear to have been influenced by just such dynamics.
Finally, they perpetuate poor leadership and short-term thinking, a dangerous feat, to say the least. When elections are about who can bribe the most, or who controls the goons, or who runs the most expensive campaign and not about who has vision for schools, farms, roads, health centres, then the winners are naturally those who owe allegiance to clients, influencers and financiers, not to ordinary voters.
That biases leadership toward personal loyalty, patronage and survival, rather than service, competence and long-term development.
The Real Danger of Treating Elections Like a Circus
My conviction is that bribery, vote-buying, intimidating campaigns, and expensive competitions in the electioneering period have become a spectacle among the majority impoverished African populace. They have simply become a circus. And like any circus, these acts distract us from the real purpose of seeking service, progress, and dignity.
When people vote because they are paid or because they fear threats, wittingly or not, they outsource their decision. They may hold a voter’s card, but they often surrender their power/consent. That means even if a “better” candidate wins, the foundations are already shaky. Their victory is owed to money or fear, not to ideals or ideas.
In such a system, honest, competent leaders struggle to emerge. Because to win, you need resources, connections, and loyal foot soldiers, not necessarily vision or integrity. And these are costly endeavours. Those who emerge as winners of such immoral systems focus on repaying debts, maintaining alliances, consolidating power and often have nothing to do with building schools, hospitals or creating jobs.
That is why, time and again, good leadership remains elusive. Because the process rewards those who can pay or intimidate most, not those who genuinely want to help their people.
Fact Check: The African Voter Still Has the Final Say
I will start with a disclaimer on this, that the African voters still have the final say, but only if they exercise it, and rightly, for that matter. This is the heart of it. Power belongs to the voter. If the voter participates, votes with conscience, and refuses to be bribed or intimidated, that power becomes real.
We should never forget that leaders live off our consent. Without votes, they lack legitimacy. Without legitimacy, they cannot, or at least should not, govern. We don’t deny them that legitimacy by avoiding voting, Nay. On the flipside, we legitimise incompetence and mediocrity.
So, the highest condition here is that citizens must care enough to vote and vote wisely.
The other condition is that elections must offer real choices. If every candidate represents the same elite interests, then even a 100 % turnout becomes vanity. That is why we must demand not just free elections, but meaningful ones, where candidates are not simply rivals in patronage, but genuinely different in vision and approach.
What Recent Elections Mean Now, and Beyond
The violence and manipulation in the Tanzanian elections, the Kenyan by-elections and intimidation in Uganda are alarming. People have been injured, properties destroyed, ballots overshadowed by intimidation, and many voters likely stayed away out of fear. These things give yellow, amber and red warnings on the future of the continents, which seems more fraught than ever.
If the future becomes worse, it will not be simply a crisis of one election but rather a crisis of our collective future. In the Kenyan context, for instance, a repeat of by-election chaos on a national scale could spell disaster. It could drive cynicism further and reinforce the fatalistic belief that voting changes nothing.
But the opposite is also true. If voters across Africa refuse to be cowed and show up in large numbers, and vote, not because of fear or money, but because they want something better, something different, something real, then we could be looking forward to a turning point in our history.
My Thoughts: It Begins with Each Citizen
I have reiterated this before that we, the citizens, are the democracy. I genuinely believe that bribery of voters obscures free will, and we should shun this. When handouts or cash change hands just before elections, that is not democracy. That is buying compliance. When campaigns become prohibitively expensive, so that only the wealthy or connected can afford to run, leadership remains a preserve of the elites.
This is why low-quality leaders keep getting chosen or imposed on us. They don’t campaign on public service; they campaign on voter manipulation and settling scores. On patronage. On short-term survival. That means the development agenda becomes secondary to balancing the books, keeping supporters happy, and staying in power.
Until citizens realise that they hold the final say and refuse to treat elections as a game, a reward system, or a circus, the bright future we speak about will forever be out of reach. Because every time an election is reduced to a money-exchange or muscle-flexing exercise, part of the public’s trust and hope dies.
All is not lost, though; there remains a glimmer in every registered voter. In every voter’s card. In every constituency where turnout is high. In every moment when someone says, “even if I get nothing, I want dignity. I want representation. I want real change.”
If you vote with that spirit, then the voting stops being a ritual. It becomes a declaration that this is who we are, and this is who we want to be. Period.
A Clarion Call to the African Voter
To every African citizen who still carries a voter’s card, believe in your power. Understand that each vote matters. Together, our votes shape our nations in ways no donors, no foreign powers, or no handouts can match.
Let’s demand that elections be peaceful, fair, and meaningful. Let’s demand real choices. Let’s demand leaders whose loyalty is not to cash flows and political godfather allegiances, but to the common good.
And above all, let us go and vote. Not as a favour or a transaction, but as a declaration of our self-worth. Because the future of our continent depends not on what our leaders give us, but on what we demand from them.
