I have to confess that I find it hard to fully register the fact that the elections are only six months away.

Maybe I’ve yet to internalise the new election dates and still conceive of polling day as occurring during the hot December period and not the cold August period (which will, at least, make the long lines rather more bearable than before).

More likely, however, I’ve just unconsciously blocked out all the noise emanating from what passes for campaigning — not to mention the absolutely literal reportage on the same: “He said, she said.” No analysis. Not even fact-checking (with even obviously erroneous statements made by would-be contenders just being placed in quotation marks). I’ve stopped reading it. My radio and television sets are firmly set to international channels for the duration.

The only things I have read that are election-related recently are the Nation Media Group’s articles under its new “Nation Agenda” series. With gratitude for at least the attempt to remind us all of what should, actually, be national priorities.

With what remains of the Kenya African National Union having declined to be co-parent of the new baby, NASA’s co-parents now include the Amani National Congress, what remains of the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-Kenya, the Orange Democratic Movement and the Wiper Party.

Expectations that NASA’s flag-bearer would be announced at the launch were confounded. Musalia Mudavadi, Moses Wetangula, Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka are all still potential presidential candidates — and maybe it is also this lack of a clear flag-bearer for the political opposition that makes the elections seem so removed.

Public cynicism is high. Any critique of the Jubilants to generally moderate and well-informed people is met with a standard response: “Is the opposition any better?”

Frankly, that’s hard to know… since the opposition is, by definition, not in power. Yes, every one of its potential flagbearers has been in government — and in ministerial posts at least — in the past. So we could assess their individual performance that way—the stands they are likely to take or not take in respect of each of their seven pillars.

But, generally speaking, I don’t know many people who see this whole hullaballoo as more than an attempt to either hold onto or seize power. Or who believe that we can and should expect more from the government than we’ve seen before.

We are numb to abuse. We are numb to the plunder of our money — and the opportunity costs created in respect of real public policy investments. We do not believe any government would not abuse us. Or steal from us.

Our electoral hopes — for the moderate and well-informed amongst us — are quite simple. That there won’t be more chaos than we can stomach. That the economy (such as it is) and our personal livelihoods won’t tank. That we’ll all emerge from August relatively unscathed. To get on with our lives.

It’s tragic. It’s a waste of our right to vote. For us to sit back and not set higher expectations of those now trying to woo us. The NMG at least is trying to get us to think about a national agenda. Why aren’t more of us?

L. Muthoni Wanyeki is Amnesty International’s regional director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes