Kenyan scholar roots for US-like electoral college system to elect President
Dr Ancent Kituku. The cancer expert doctor has suggested the adoption of electoral college voting system similar to the one used in the US to cure what he terms Kenya's Presidential election rigging problem and the tribal competition associated with the race to State House. Photo/Gastone Musyoka
A Kenyan scholar has suggested the adoption of an electoral college voting system similar to the one used in the US to cure ‘troubled’ Kenya's Presidential election.
Troubled because of persistent rigging allegations and the tribal competition associated with it.
Dr Ancent Kituku, who is a cancer expert doctor from Kangundo constituency in Machakos County, said a small county like Lamu could have one(1) electoral college vote while a bigger one like Nairobi could have 10 electoral votes depending on the size of the population.
"The formula of college voting is what we need. If we had it in Kenya, it could eliminate tribalism completely. It's simple… the smallest county, say Lamu, by population will have one(1) college vote. Then the bigger ones will proportionally hold college votes based on their population numbers," Dr Kituku said on Wednesday during a burial ceremony in Kawethei village.
“The presidential candidate that has majority vote in a county is given all college votes for that county,” he explained.
He said having such a system will cure the problem of tribalism as a person who casts a vote for a Presidential candidate from his tribe will not be able to change the electoral college vote of the county if the majority votes are from a different tribe.
"The overall winner of the presidency will only need a simple majority college vote. Not one-man-one-vote that should only be relevant for other lower levels of representation," said Dr Kituku.
He gave his views to politicians and other citizens alike as Kenyans followed the results of the US Presidential election where former President Donald Trump beat Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
