Why Gen Z voter apathy could derail Maraga’s presidential bid
By Mabonga Makhanu, October 7, 2025The ongoing low voter registration turnout might have an impact on former Chief Justice David Maraga, among other presidential aspirants like Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.
These aspirants were smoked out of their comfort zones by the Gen Z protests. At that point, the young people were adamant for change and a shift in the status quo.
For them, the only people who could have brought such change were the likes of Maraga. In fact, during their heated engagements then, they thought of Maraga vying as president with Omtatah as his running mate. They saw it as the best combination and one that could have secured an early win.
Some political observers say that had elections been held then, Maraga could have won since the young people were tired of the current regime and were up in arms protesting against it.
These were the basis of Maraga being smoked out of his retirement. He had maintained a low profile since his retirement, but when the young turks came out protesting and suggesting that he might be a good president, he came out to declare his bid.
Voter registration exercise
With the current voter registration exercise, which is now in its second week, registering low new voter turnout, the young voters who maybe in 2027 would be voting for the first time are mostly Maraga’s constituents.
They are the ones who were demanding change and saw him as a better solution for the flaws within the current setup. Since they are not rising to register as voters, it might have a direct impact on Maraga and other presidential hopefuls whose decision to vie for the presidency was informed by the Gen Zs.
Since Maraga is not a legacy politician, his selling point was the young people. And since the majority of his constituents are not turning up to register as voters, this might spell doom for his presidential bid.
For him, competing with legacy politicians will be difficult; they have lots of advantages over him, be it money or influence, something that Maraga is deprived of.
IEBC was targeting over 6.3 million new voters to register.
This could have been a huge boost for Maraga, but with the current voter turnout, where during the first week only a handful out of the 6.3 million projected voters turned up to register, there is no enthusiasm among the young people to storm voter registration centres as many had thought would happen.
Conclusion
The low voter turnout paints a worrying picture for new-age presidential aspirants like former Chief Justice David Maraga, Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, and former Interior CS Fred Matiang’i. What once seemed like a youth-driven political wave now appears to be losing steam, threatening to derail the very movement that propelled these figures into the national spotlight.
If the current voter registration trend continues, it could significantly weaken their political base—particularly among Gen Zs, who were once the loudest voices demanding change. Unless a renewed sense of civic responsibility emerges before the 2027 elections, the dream of a youth-powered political transformation might fade before it ever takes off.