COVER STORY
A popular tool during elections to shift perceptions is the opinion polls . These polls are supposed to track the candidate ’ s progress and to gauge whether he or she is making any progress in their campaign to determine if a change of strategy of tactics is called for .
But wiry politicians are quick to realize that they can manipulate the polls to make themselves appear popular in the hope that since they know people like to associate with winners then if the polls say they are popular then you can achieve conversion at no cost .
The other way polls can be used to alter perception is if a candidate is actually popular and the opponent can deliberately dampen the figures to indicate a lower than real position and this is meant to discourage the opponent or have him change successful tactics to their detriment .
As a voter you need to be wary of what the opinion polls are telling you . A bit of a background check will reveal that particular polls will favor a particular candidate since the whole purpose of the polls is not to report reality but to shift perception .
Unscrupulous pollsters can create tension by reporting false data which then raises expectations among the voters and can spark violence when a candidate loses fairly but the data reported by the polls clearly show his supporters that he was in a winning position .
It is telling that most of the polls will not usually tell you the methodology used or even the sample size . It actually should be a criminal offense to publish data that is false and with the sole intent of affecting people ’ s perception either positively or negatively .
The biggest mistake that we make as a voter is the overemphasis on the presidential elections as if that is the only election that matters . All our attentions and energy has been captured by the presidential election and that is why we are colliding .
Yet the reality is that in the devolved constitution that we are operating under the president is quite irrelevant to your everyday life . You may get the president of your choice in the august elections and your life takes a turn for the worse because you focused on the wrong elections .
The elections that affects you directly are those of the MCA and the governor . If as a voter you have
“ Why would a politician need to consult the prince of darkness to be able to represent God fearing citizenry ? Could it be that the activities of the politician cannot stand the light of truth and hence they trust the underworld for guidance ?”
not bothered to read the constitution and are just getting caught up in the presidential election hype you will be left disappointed after elections .
That lowly and mostly illiterate MCA that you have not even bothered to find out his name and for that matter where he operates from is the person making policy decisions on whether your road is repaired , whether you get water and whether the clinic near you gets drugs .
The most important election for you as a voter is the election of your MCA and your Governor . If you choose unwisely in these two positions then get ready for very bumpy five years to the next elections irrespective of whether you get the president of your choice in office .
You can make mistakes in the choice of your MPs and Senators and you will not feel the direct impact of your poor choice . The tradeoff will be that in some distant future you may realize that some important legislative issues were ignored due to having incompetent parliamentarians .
But if you make the mistake of electing the wrong MCA and Governor then the repercussions will be swift , immediate and drastic . The reason the Nairobi County is under the management of Nairobi Metropolitan Services ( NMS ) is purely because you as a voter put into office ghetto boys who came into office to smoke ganja .
If you travel through Kenya you will notice that the counties that chose their Governor wisely are a showcase of progress and those that chose unwisely their governors have turned the county into a personal piggy bank which is periodically replenished by the national government .
While you agonize on whether to support the Kenya Kwanza initiative of whether it makes more sense to support the Azimio la Umoja movement , you will have already lost the plot at your doorstep because at the moment you are mesmerized by the presidential aspirants .
It is true that they provide entertainment and energy and they are making all types of promises about how they will change the face of Kenya as soon as they are sworn into office but the truth is that they have been in government for donkey years and the only thing we attach to them is scandals .
The tendency by the electorate to expect magic every time an election comes around is what has stalled the Kenyan progress , as a voter we must focus more on the institutions that create progress and believe less in the campaign promises of those seeking office .
If the interests of the Kenyan people were paramount in the hearts of the leaders then we find it difficult to believe that the three gentlemen that at various times have worked together could not find a workable formula to co-operate now for the great good of the nation .
But if the primary agenda is power and prestige then it is actually nearly an impossibility to find a common ground since any of them would like to claim the honors . The pride that comes with the office of being called the top dog in the hierarchy is too tempting to give up .
It has always been a source of puzzlement that people should fight one another to serve rather than cooperate . We say we want to serve but in truth we want to dominate and control others while getting the feelgood sensation of serving the public , it is a con game .
As a voter you must remember that politics is never that serious and it is only a game which if you lose you re-strategize and wait for the next five years to give it another shot . The political class are enjoying themselves while the followers are frothing in the mouth like rabid dogs . ■
The cover piece was pieced together by the Marketing Africa editorial crew . For feedback or any more discourse please drop us a line at :
Info @ marketingafrica . co . ke .
MAL 47 / 22 ISSUE 55