The chosen article talks about concluded Kenyan elections that Uhuru Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto were declared winners. The presidential race was closely contested between Jubilee’s Uhuru Kenyatta and Cord’s Raila Odinga. However, the IEBC (Kenyan electoral body), announced Kenyatta the winner. Raila Odinga protested this decision and he is expected to challenge it in the Supreme Court citing electoral malpractices, especially concerning the tallying process.
The article brings out a number of political concepts including democracy, politics, influence, sovereignty, and power. Democracy refers to the political process that respects the rule of law whereby the opinion of each person counts. It refers to the form of government that allows all people to choose their leaders without any influence.
In this regard, democracy allows an individual to participate in elections by either voting for the preferred candidate or presenting his or her candidature for selection. In the article, the author notes that the new Kenyan constitution empowers people to participate in electing their leaders freely. At one point, the author notes that the former president interfered with the ideals of democracy during his reign by doing away with multiparty elections.
Politics is a concept that is described variously. Some scholars believe that politics is the authoritative allocation of resources. Others view it as an art and science of influencing people as regards to civil matters meaning that it is a relational concept. In the article, the author suggests that the former president is the winner in the recently concluded elections because his political students made it to power. This means that he is still politically relevant.
Politics is present in all levels of life including individual level, societal level, family level, and international level. Aristotle was of the view that man is both a political and a social animal meaning that politics is inherent in people. Through politics, an individual is able to influence others. Through politics, Uhuru Kenyatta and his running mate have acquired governmental power since they are the president-elect and deputy president-elect respectively.
An individual who has the ability to change other people’s views and perceptions is said to be influential politically. This means that influence is the act of convincing other people to support certain policies. However, for somebody to influence others, he or she must have adequate resources and technical knowledge.
For instance, the outgoing Kenyan premier, Raila Odinga, and the country’s deputy president-elect are said to be influential politically while the country’s president-elect, Uhuru Kenyatta, is influential economically since he is one of the richest individuals in the African continent.
Influence is related to other concepts such as politics and supremacy because an influential person would definitely excel politically. Sovereignty refers to the capability of the individual or the state to make decisions without external influence. In the article, the author notes that Uhuru Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto were able to attain political power and authority by claiming that their opponents were puppets of the west.
This means that sovereignty is an important concept that influences politics. Since Kenya is a sovereign state, the west or any other actor in the international system should not interfere with internal decision-making processes. Power refers to the prestige and status that an individual enjoys owing to his or her position in society. Political power is achieved through elections in a democratic process.