064 – Go and Vote

Kenya will be holding General Elections on Monday 4th March 2013. I urge all Kenyans who registered as voters to go and vote. Interest is highest in the Presidential race. There are two main contenders, each with passionate supporters, and those supporters will almost certainly go and vote for their preferred aspirant on Monday. There are also six other candidates running for President.

Some people may feel that the candidate they want does not stand a realistic chance of winning and those who are undecided. It is these groups that I want to address.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Darwinek

Even if you think your candidate is unlikely to win, go and vote.
You have two options, and whichever one you pick, your vote will count: Vote for the candidate you want, even if he or she will not win, or vote for one of the two main contenders (If you think they are both bad, choose the ‘lesser evil.’). Either way, please Go and Vote.

The reason I say you should still vote for your choice even if you think they will not win is simple: The Constitution requires that to be elected President, one must win more than 50% of the votes cast. That means that to win, one must get more votes than the other competitors combined. In other words, for every vote cast for the competitors, the winning candidate must get a matching vote and in the end at least one extra vote. So by voting, you will make the winner have to earn their victory.
To put it yet another way, the higher the total number of votes cast, the more votes a candidate must have in order to win (It is harder to get 50% of 14 million votes than to get 50% of 5 million votes). So, your vote does count. Please Go and Vote.

If we go to a run-off, then you will have only two candidates to choose from. Choose the one you prefer, or choose the one you dislike less, but again, go and vote. Failing to vote makes it easier for either to win.

If you do not know who is vying for which position in the place where you registered to vote, you can go to
http://vote.iebc.or.ke/
http://info.mzalendo.com/ and get a list of the aspirants.
You can also go to myaspirantmyleader.com, but I find the mzalendo site easier to use.

Go and vote on Monday.

Related articles

• It’s impossible to rig Kenya poll – IEBC (capitalfm.co.ke)
• Kenya Electoral Body to Release Final Voter List Monday (voanews.com)
• Who Is the Lesser Evil Between Uhuru and Raila? (lonefelix.wordpress.com)

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The Abortion Issue

Kenya is considering a new constitution. The Church has some objections to the Draft Constitution. The media has been claiming that the Church opposes abortion if the life of the mother is in danger. That is NOT true.

Below is the issue with abortion.

Article 26 says:
1) Every person has the right to life
2) The life of a person begins at conception
3) A person shall not be deprived of life intentionally, except to the extent authorised by this Constitution, or other written law.
4) Abortion is not permitted unless, in the opinion of a trained health professional, there is need for emergency treatment, or the life or health of the mother is in danger, or if permitted by any other written law.

Now, the problem is in Clause 4.
The problems are these:
Problem 1) The clause does not define ‘trained health professional’
That means a nurse, a clinical officer or even a psychologist can be called a trained heath professional.

Problem 2) The phrase “There is need for emergency treatment” is not restricted to treatment related to the pregnancy.
So, if a mother needs emergency treatment of her toe, then she can abort, even if the sick toe is not affecting the pregnancy.

Problem 3) The words ‘or health’ are ambiguous.
The World Health Organisation defines health at this link:
http://www.who.int/about/definition/en/print.html/
and says
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

So, if a psychologist says that a baby will endanger the social well-being of a woman, then the woman can abort.
Or if a nurse says that a pregnant woman will experience anguish because she wanted to get a Masters degree before getting a baby, then their mental well-being is in danger and they can abort.

This is effectively abortion on demand

Problem 4) the clause ‘or any other written law’ means that 50 members of Parliament can be in the House, pass a new law by simple majority, and abortion will be legal, thus nullifying all the other clauses prohibiting abortion.

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