Only genuine progressive concern for public will determine MPs’ re-election

The question of whether some of our MPs in 55 perennially one term

constituencies "Are Jinxed", considering the outcomes of the last

three general elections ( STD Dec 17, 2011) raise fundamental

questions of leadership performance and voters judgements. Some

legislatures, once elected to the August House with great hope,

promise and fanfare, immediately forget the first law of their job:

The people have hired the MP and the easiest way to be regularly

re-elected is to govern well.

The voting public in every nation have placed their trusts, lives, liberties and

livelihoods in the hands of their elected leaders. Opportunistic

betrayal is therefor fatal for political careers. Citizens painfully

detest alibis. They know true, authentic leader when they see one.

Representation, whether at the national level or county, is always

plural; it always occurs within the context of others; all the

stakeholders of the democratic process, where the center of gravity is

the voter/citizen.

Legislatures and other representatives and the voters are engaged in a

common enterprise. They are dependent on each other, their fortunes

are supposed to rise and fall together. Few people knew the " True

Compass" of the citizens of a democratic country as Edward Kennedy

who, before he passed on in 2009, served his people for almost 47

years as the Lion of the USA Senate with his famous, timeless clarion

call. " For all those whose cares have been our concern (

citizens/voters), the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still

lives and the dream shall never die."

At every election, people bring their strong fears, expectations and

experiences to the polling booths. They expect and hope their

representatives will enable them achieve extraordinary things.After

all, as Peter Drucker said, it is the test of great leadership to make

ordinary people perform better than they seem capable of, to bring out

whatever strength there is in its members and to use each person's

strength to help all other members perform and accomplish

socioeconomic prosperity.

The fact that for the initial time and in subsequent elections the

voters returned to parliament Minister Sam Ongeri, Deputy Speaker

Farah Maalim and MP Isaac Ruto among other notables is proof that

every election season comes with it its unique  social dynamics. Then

the voters judge an incumbent MP against clear, expected, objective

governance parameters. what do the people say ?  Little happens to them without those at top "turning up large rocks." After all bottlenecks are the head of bottles.

In the present Kenya, many things are changing for the better beyond

recognition. These includes absolute constitutional requirements of

leadership of integrity. integrity has number of dimensions. Honesty, truthfulness, reliability and loyalty to people and country are known to be some of the corner stones of integrity.

You cannot acquire integrity on the job training. It

is not abstract, it is concrete. It is one quality which is advisable

that leaders and managers of public affairs must bring with them

on seeking office.  It is a public demand.

Another aptitude seekers of elective office should work to acquire, apparently, are skills of selling oneself and ideas to the electorate. A successful salesperson find out what the people want and help them get it. This is a good lesson for any politician who cares to endure with public applause.

Just as the purpose of business is the creation of a satisfied

customer, the purpose of a political leader is the creation of

empowered, happy citizen, capable of scaling extraordinary heights in

life. Not making or unmaking laws. Profitability and enacting laws are

not the purposes of business and legislatures respectively; only the

test of their validity.

Therefore, overcoming unplanned high parliamentary turnover, jinx, is

an individual commitment, luck or otherwise. Once our  political

leaders internalize and appreciate the purpose of their mission in

terms of those " whose cares have been " their privileged duty,

everything else would fall into the correct place. They should,

however, always have sense of strategic timing of when to let it go

and say to all and sundry, " Thank you, goodbye".

That is good and proud moment for everyone.