Recently, county governors made public their bid to have a national referendum which will address various issues, most of them aimed at securing and strengthening devolution.
We've seen the county chiefs make a similar push for a public vote in the past. However, they backed down claiming that the opposition had hijacked their referendum agenda, although it later emerged that they only wanted to save the face of Jubilee administration.
Several months later, the governors are now accusing Jubilee of undermining devolution by enacting laws that weaken county governments. They are also accusing Jubilee of establishing unnecessary administrative structures that compete the county governments. This time, they say they are intent on going the full mile to present their referendum question at the ballot.
Among the issues governors want addressed include, an increased funding to counties and level five hospitals, separation of powers between the Senate and National assembly, and to secure equal treatment for Members of County Assemblies.
Similarly, about a month ago during the climax of a campaign for better governance, the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy unveiled citizen contentions, most of them constitutional, and others seeking to address the cost of living, unemployment, county funding, insecurity among other issues. This was during the Saba Saba rally after President Uhuru turned down attempts to hold a national dialogue to conclusively address these issues.
Apparently, if both the governors and CORD maintain their push for a referendum, we could end up having two separate votes on pretty much related issues. This presents the risk that the referendum could become overly redundant and thereby confusing the public.
As a result, the electorate may not be in a position to make a decision that is reflective of their wishes. As such, the referendum shall be a failure and may not attain its goal.
Proponents of the referendum are seeking to amend the constitution by popular initiative. However, issues they have raised are nearly similar with several areas of convergence. The referendum question can hence be merged to simplify the voting process.
Such merging could make the popularization campaign simpler and enable Kenyans to be better informed on the goals of the vote. With such knowledge, voters will be able to make more informed decisions thereby making the referendum reflective of their wish.
By this, the aim of the referendum could be easier to achieve. Campaigns and the electoral process could also be made easier and less cash intensive.
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