Africa Centre for Open Governance (Africog) has hosted an open forum that focused on the role of civil society in the post-2022 election and also in the current developing context of topical corruption issues.
Africog is an independent, non-profit organization that provides research and monitors governance and public ethic issues in both public and private sectors so as to address the structural process of the crisis of governance with the aim of promoting the implementation of the constitution of Kenya 2010.
Speaking during the event, constitutional law expert and governance advisor Wachira Maina pointed out that democracy is viewed in two dimensions; the empirical dimension that involves the rise of authoritarianism and retreat of democracy everywhere and the normative dimension that involves growing solidarity amongst authoritarian regimes.
“The index of democracy is compiled from 60 indicators grouped in 5 categories including electoral process and pluralism, civic liberties, functioning of government, political participation and political culture,” said Maina.
He noted the problem of shrinkage of democracy and stated that the dimensions of the problem are brought about by the widespread and growing promotion of autocratic norms, rise in coups and power grabs, growing fragility of democratic institutions in countries in which democracy was thought consolidated and the institutionalization of proforma elections.
“The sources of the problem of the weakening of the foundations of democratic stability involve the bargain between capital and labor, the effect of the collapse of communism, the impact of the non-democratic rise and demographic and demography shifts,” added Maina.
He also noted that civil society can realistically make sure that the era of activism without proper diagnosis was over and that from the diagnosis, issues have traction with an increasingly cynical or skeptical electorate.
Also speaking at the event, research professor of development studies at the Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi Prof. Karuti Kanyinga stated that the high cost of living was the most pressing problem before the August elections and continues to be the most serious problem that needs priority.
“Analysis show that more females than males were satisfied with the way the Supreme Court handled the presidential petition and across all demographics most of the respondents were satisfied apart from Nyanza region where most respondents were not satisfied,” said Kanyinga
By Edna Okoth and Irene Mwende
