The long-awaited day is finally here, and Kenyans are excited to exercise their fundamental voting rights.
However, this excitement can easily turn into rejection if you fail to play along with the rules of a polling station.
The Mkenya Leo researched the mistakes you should not commit when voting to avoid your vote being rejected, or worse facing the law.
Here are the don’ts
Avoid Campaign Materials
The campaigning period ended officially on Saturday, 6th August. Therefore, you are not allowed to enter the polling station with any campaign material such as posters, branded t-shirts, and caps. The goal of this rule is to avoid conflict between voters supporting different candidates.
Avoid Interfering with the Polling Procedure
The voting procedure is already tedious as people are anxious about the results. Hence, you are not supposed to interfere with the procedure to allow it to move smoothly and on time.
Some of the habits that are considered interference are skipping the line, pushing each other, waiting outside the polling station after voting, and entering the polling station with foreign materials.
All you need to do is to vote calmly and then leave the polling station. Just go home and let the IEBC officers do their job as you wait for the results at home.
Avoid Pretense
Tabia za Wakenya na Kujifanya! Pretense is a crime. You are not supposed to pretend that you need help to vote. You should vote for yourself if you can do so.
Avoid Carrying Your Phone Into the Polling Station
Phones are considered to cause interference; hence, you are advised not to carry them when you enter the voting room. After all, you have no business with your phone inside the voting room. For those who cannot stay on their phones, the phones are required to be on silent mode. Here, the objective is to be responsible and ensure that your phone does not interfere with the voting exercise.
Do not take a photo of the ballot paper
I know we live in an era where we snap everything for memories or to share with our online friends. Well, keep your snapping culture out of the voting exercise. You are not supposed to take a picture of the ballot paper or any other material. Your voting should uphold secrecy, and pictures jeopardize it.
Vote Carefully
This is not a don’t but a very important point to consider. You should vote carefully to avoid your vote being considered a rejected vote during the tallying process. The mistakes you should avoid are
casting the voting paper into the wrong “bin”. For instance, the ballot paper for governor should not to another tin meant for another position lest it will be termed as a strayed ballot.
Mark once per box. Marking more than one makes your vote a spoiled vote
