Young people can help ensure peaceful 2027 general election

In a year and 10 months, Kenyans will go to the polls to either renew or terminate the mandate of many of their representatives. In the spirit of collective responsibility and creative patriotism, we must ask, are we prepared for peaceful elections? Political competition has kicked off in earnest. But more than anything else, we must be alert to the dangers of political extremism, be it of far left or far right.

Political extremism, the rejection of democratic norms and seeking legitimacy via fear and intimidation rather than democratic change, is rising globally and Kenya is no exception. Young people, especially with social media penetration are easy targets in part because of the declining economic opportunities and political views that are yet to fully crystalise. That ideological, philosophical fluidity of the young people coupled with the rage culture without reason that we have all seen in many societies today, makes the youth susceptible to recruitment to extremist ideologies.

There is an emerging trend of non-violent but polarising ideologies being propagated via social media. The calculation, in my view, is that such polarisation is the first seed to promote hate speech which can then balloon into violent radicalisation. The tactic of many extremist political entities globally is to first operate in the gray zone. That is between criminality, social movement and political action with ideological and identity components. A case in point locally is when some individuals with previous law enforcement backgrounds postured that they wanted to form a violent outfit to fight governance challenges. In their many interviews with the media, besides their attempt to ride the anger towards state violence, you couldn’t place a finger on their ideological and philosophical North Star.

A professional colleague told me recently that while there is the legitimate role of emancipatory violence in democratic struggle, its use must be reserved only for the most desperate of circumstances. While highlighting its paradoxical role, he pointed that violence aimed at liberation may also harm innocent people, as we might have all witnessed, or it might reinforce authoritarian tendencies.

It is against this backdrop that I believe young people can still help lead Kenya to the shores of calmer waters of peaceful political competition. Since the rhetoric at the top from both sides of the political divide has left little room for collective national introspection, we must help redirect national focus to what matters the most. As a critical first step the youth must appreciate that our institutions are manned by some very decent men and women. These men and women must then help us cobble a coalition of youth-led initiatives interested in mainstream political processes and political competition management institutions. Some of these institutions include the National Police Service and other agencies that focus on law enforcement and national security, the The Judiciary Committee on Elections, the Independent and Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC), National Cohesion and Integration Commission, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and Office of the Registrar Of Political Parties and the rest.

This is a political imperative since it’s our collective responsibility to help our institutions build the necessary social licence that would make them effective. The new electoral body limped into office with little public confidence. In May 2025, a TIFA poll indicated that half of Kenyans have no confidence at all in the integrity of the upcoming 2027 elections. This is certainly not an indictment of the IEBC commissioners’ integrity or suitability. It might be an indicator of the corrosive political process marked by horse-trading around hiring of IEBC bosses. 

It is thus the considered view of this column that a congenial collaboration between the young people and the institutions mentioned above is a prerequisite for peaceful elections in 2027. These institutions must also, as a matter of necessity, unclench their hands and embrace the young political actors who have the presence of mind to organise around leadership and seek creative collaboration.

Mr Kidi is Senior Policy Associate, Felt Africa Group and convenor of Inter-Parties Youth Forum. kidimwaga@gmail.com