Role of Community Leaders in Ensuring Secure Electoral Process in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

This study specifically analyzed assessed the role of community leaders in ensuring secure electoral process in Nairobi City County. Human Security and Securitization Theories explained how community leaders in Nairobi’s informal settlements enhance electoral security by framing threats, mobilizing residents, coordinating with security actors, and guiding responses, ultimately reducing violence, increasing voter participation, and strengthening citizen-state relations. The study used a mixed-method design with 400 purposively sampled respondents from Nairobi’s informal settlements. Data were collected through interviews, questionnaires, and focus groups, and thematic analysis was applied to organize qualitative insights into themes, providing a comprehensive understanding of electoral security and social dynamics. This study observed that Community policing plays a vital role in ensuring safe elections, with elders, youth leaders, religious figures, and women’s groups actively promoting peace, mediating conflicts, and mobilizing voters. Its effectiveness depends on community support, neutrality, and resources, while challenges include politicization, lack of training, and limited capacity. This study proposes a formal Community Electoral Security Council (CESC) of vetted community leaders to ensure impartial, well-resourced, and trusted community policing, strengthening electoral security and preventing politicization.