Civil society organizations (CSOs) under the TuPigane na Ufisadi banner have launched a nationwide drive calling for issue-based politics, strong civic participation, and strict integrity checks for political leaders as the country enters a critical electioneering period.
Speaking during a joint CSO forum, representatives urged voters to move away from emotional politics and voter bribery, calling instead for a focus on substantive policy platforms, accountability, and social inclusion.
Peter Luya, representing the Tembeya Youth Center for Sustainable Development, emphasized the need for voters to critically analyze political manifestos against existing public budget and policy documents.
”We want to have discussions where we have issue-based politics where we can compare candidate manifestos and see how they align with available budget and policy documents,” Luya said. “We must ensure we don’t elect leaders based on emotion without anything substantive to point to.”
Luya further called on statutory integrity bodies, including the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), to play an active role in vetting candidates before they are cleared to run, ensuring individuals with questionable character or corruption records are sidelined.
The forum also highlighted the growing concern over voter bribery, youth exploitation, and political violence.
Madika Daniel of the Likuyani Community Empowerment Organization and a member of the TuNu Project stressed that active citizen participation is essential to counter external political manipulation.
”There is a need for more deliberate and intentional citizen participation where citizens take the lead in governance rather than being forced or influenced by government or external forces,” Daniel stated, describing voter bribery as a “two-way channel” that requires citizens to stand firm against being bought.
Addressing the vulnerability of young people to political incitement, Bese James, a member of SAGE and TuNu, urged CSOs to act as gatekeepers against illicit political funding and drug-fueled violence.
”When youth take money from politicians to cause chaos, there is an aftermath,” James noted. “Our work as CSOs is to ask where this money is coming from and demand accountability. We must sensitize the public so that we have issue-based elections, not just voting for the sake of it.”
The meeting also underscored the critical role of women in social accountability. Lavin Achieng, a advocate for inclusion, pushed for greater grassroots civic education to ensure women are actively involved in holding leaders accountable.
”Let us use social accountability to drive issue-based politics,” Achieng urged. “Women are still being left behind, and we are working to empower them at the grassroots so they can engage on substantive governance issues.”
The CSOs pledged to sustain momentum across local communities to educate the public, safeguard voter integrity, and demand accountability from political aspirants throughout the campaign season.
