Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Saturday, February 4, conducted an election exercise at a Primary School in Nakuru County.
As part of taking Civic Education to the grassroots, IEBC conducted a leadership election at Fruits Academy where the electoral commission gave insights into what it takes to manage a plebiscite process.
IEBC officials explained that they partnered with the Primary School to meet the constitutional requirement for continuous civic education.
"It is our responsibility to ensure that we impact the knowledge of civic education to young people at early ages of their lives," a Returning Officer from IEBC explained.
The electoral commission emphasised that every citizen, regardless of age, has all the rights to access relevant and adequate information to enable them effectively understand their democratic responsibilities.
IEBC Returning Officer for the election explained that young minds, who will be participating in electoral processes and making informed choices in the future, are best placed to receive the knowledge of civic education at an early age.
"We hope that, with time, we will be able to convince Kenyans that election is a process that is free and transparent at every stage," the Returning Officer explained.
IEBC officials noted that the commission is mandated by the 2010 Constitution to conduct and supervise voter education for all Kenyans.
The commission also revealed that it had developed a Voter Education Curriculum that gives a lot of attention to young minds like Primary School pupils.
"We feel that by starting it from the grassroots, with time, we will not have a problem with people rejecting election results," the Returning Officer assured.
In the IEBC Civic Education Curriculum, Kenyans of all cadres are exposed to standardised voter education objectives that seek to explain voting processes in simple detail.
The electoral body also called on other schools to contact the commission for such engagements that will expose their students to the knowledge and wisdom of electoral maturity.
