EDITORIAL: Free and fair polls essential

The recent parliamentary by-elections in Embakasi South and Ugenya may be a bitter setback for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), which was handed humiliating defeats, but at the core of democracy is freedom of choice.

Though the turnout was low, as is characteristic of repeat polls, conspicuously missing this time during the campaigns, on the polling day and after the results were announced, is the scourge of violence that has come to mark our politics.

But elections need not be a matter of life and death as the losers have a chance to go back to the drawing board and give it another try later.

The winners should savour their victory now, knowing very well that in 2022, just about three years away, they will have to convince voters that they deserve to be re-elected.

Quite impressive this time is the fact that the losers and their parties quickly conceded defeat and congratulated the winners.

This also confirms that the by-elections were held in a free and transparent atmosphere, yielding the true verdict of the voters.

In Embakasi South, Wiper Democratic Party candidate Julius Mawathe, whose 2017 victory was nullified by an election court, now has a fresh mandate to serve his constituents.

In Ugenya, Mr David Ochieng, who successfully challenged his defeat in the 2017 polls, is back in Parliament on the ticket of the little-known Movement for Growth and Democracy (MGD) party.

It is quite encouraging that the tension and drama that dog our elections most of the time were missing. This is an opportunity to further democratise our country. Elections remain the most effective way through which to choose leaders. It is, therefore, imperative that all eligible people can freely seek to lead. They must have an unfettered chance to seek party nominations or run as independents, and the people the right to cast their ballots.