They said democracy means one man one vote. Is this true that democracy means one man one vote?
The idea of one man one vote was a proposal of a Greek philosopher called Socrates. But is this not simply abusing the philosophy of Mr Socrates because before Mr Socrates said democracy is one man one vote, Mr Socrates said if two people are to understand each other then the people have to agree on the subject that is specified.
If the politicians have agreed to compete in politics for the position of president, then the position of president has to be defined, and the rules for achieving the position of president must also be defined.
The position of president can be perceived differently according to the nation and the culture of the nation. In Kenya the position of president is defined or created by the constitution. This is the culture of constitutionalism.
The position of president is defined by the constitution. The constitution defines many standards. For example, the president must be sane, the president must not be a criminal, and others.
The most relevant standard in the constitution that defines the position of president of Kenya is the president is elected by the majority, or the 50+1 rule. This is the rule that defines the democracy of Kenya.
The 2017 election should not be counted as an election that meets the standard of being called a democratic election. The number of petitions is evidence that the election failed to meet the standard of one man one vote and the actions of the politicians including the president confirms the fact that the 2017 election had nothing to do with democracy.
The 2011 election and the 2007 election failed to meet the standard of democracy. Someone is allowed to doubt if Kenya truly is a democracy according to the standards expressed by the philosopher.
If the information for statistical firms such as info track concerning the presidential election for 2017 is true, then neither Mr Uhuru Kenyatta or Mr Raila Odinga achieved the standard of 50+1. According to the predictions of the Statistical firms, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta achieved approximately 47% of the vote and Mr Raila Odinga achieved 44% of the vote. According to the constitution, the president has to achieve the standard of 50+1% of the vote and more in order to be sworn in as the president of Kenya.
But because Kenya is a democracy according to the one man one vote rule, the politician with the most votes is sworn in anyway.
The Law of one man one vote should be challenged in parliament as a standard used to define the democracy of Kenya. For example, instead of the 50+1 rule, a better and more relevant standard is, the politician who is sworn in as the president of Kenya should achieve 90% and at least 80% of the vote. It is better a president with a 90% majority vote than a president who is being sworn in with a 46% approval rating.
The 50+1 rule means 50+1% of the vote is the majority and the other 49% of the vote are forced to go along with the majority.
The Nation of Scotland had a referendum to decide whether Scotland should be independent or part of the United Kingdom. The Scots voted so that Scotland can be part of the United Kingdom. Some Scots who lost the vote were disappointed by the results. Even though they believed in the independence of Scotland, they are now forced to be part of the United Kingdom. This is one of the drawbacks of the 50+1 rule.
If instead of using 50+1, the Scots were using the 80% rule, meaning for Scotland to be part of the United Kingdom the Scots had to achieve 80% approval, then the politics concerning the referendum could have been different. The Scottish politicians would not have even thought of independence.
This means the politics of the day in any Nation that believes in the idea of democracy, has to consider the rules that define the idea of democracy. Whether the 50+1% of the vote, 80%, or whichever other method is preferred will determine the outcome of the election.
The 50+1 rule method of defining democracy in any nation is most effective in determining the outcome of the election. When ideology of the politicians of the democracy are almost the same or are the same, this is a sign of a mature democracy or a sophisticated democracy. The population is enlightened, the population know themselves and what they want.
The democracy of Kenya is not sophisticated enough to take advantage of the 50+1 rule. Kenyan politics is community politics. This is evidence that the Kenyan population and politicians do not deserve to practice democracy based on the 50+1 rule.
The idea of 50+1 encourages community politics Kenya, and Kenyans are not sophisticated enough to effectively practice the 50+1 rule democracy. A more relevant democracy is the 80% rule democracy.
The advantage of the 80% rule is that it forces the voter to vote the same way, to think the same way, and is more inclusive. No one is left behind. 80% rule means the voters have agreed on a certain candidate. There are less lies because every one is following the same plan. Political impasses and stalemates and situations like “mkate nusu” are avoided.
A more effective way of defining the democracy of Kenya is the 80% rule.
The 80% rule means to be sworn in as the president of Kenya, the presidential candidate should achieve 80% and above of the vote.
An 80% vote would change the politics of Kenya forcing the politician to change the behavior, and the voter to change the attitude. So for example instead of the politician emphasizing community politics, the politician is forced to practice more appealing politics or more inclusive politics.
Is it possible for a politician to achieve 80% of the vote? The presidents that have achieved 80% and above of the National vote include Mr Jomo Kenyatta in 1963. The whole Nation agreed, including Mr Oginga Odinga that Mr Jomo Kenyatta should be the president of Kenya. Mr Mwai Kibaki also achieved 80% and above of the vote in 2002. This is the standard that should be used to announce the president of Kenya. It is possible for the president of Kenya to be sworn in with a 80% and above vote in the year 2022.
This is the right way for Kenya to achieve unity according to the constitution. If the political class are honest about uniting the Nation, the idea of building bridges initiative is an inferior idea compared to switching to the 80% rule.
Parliamentarians should consider changing the 50+1% rule to 80% and above. But before they go this direction, parliamentarians and the political class should do a lot of soul searching and ask themselves, “is there a better way of defining the democracy of Kenya?”.
Another question they should ask themselves is, “is democracy relevant in Kenya today especially considering the quality of the population?”.
.
