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Radio dominates the news media ecosystem in Kenya. However, little is known about the relationship between radio exposure and drivers of electoral participation in Kenya. This research thus examines the correlation between radio exposure and political knowledge and attitudes, and interpersonal political discussions among women voters during the 2013 Kenya general election in Kakamega County. The study adopted a descriptive quantitative correlational research design, collecting data from 372 women voters using a survey interviewer-administered questionnaire. The data was analyzed through bivariate statistics based on Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficients. Findings reveal a strong and positive correlation between radio exposure and political knowledge as well as election campaign interest. This suggests that radio exposure can contribute to political learning and create voter awareness on political activities and rights that lead to election campaign interest. It was established that there was a low positive link between women voters’ radio exposure and the frequency of face-to-face political discussions. The association between radio exposure and political self-efficacy was found to be strong but negative. This indicates that an increase in the level of radio exposure can lower women voters’ political self-efficacy. We argue that as a result of long political marginalization, women require higher levels of political self-efficacy, which radio exposure might not build over a shorter time during elections. This article explores various implications and recommends to policymakers, political strategists, and journalists to tap into the power of radio in boosting the key drivers of women’s electoral participation.

This article examines sociodemographic characteristics and political attitudes predicting women voters’ participation in the 2013 general election in Kakamega County, Kenya. Survey data from 372 women voters were collected from this county, the second most populous among the 47 counties in Kenya. Using these data, a two-stage hierarchical multiple regression was conducted with 13 predictors and electoral participation as the dependent variable. In stage one, sociodemographic characteristics accounted for 27 % of the variation in women voters’ electoral participation.  In stage two, sociodemographic characteristics and political attitudes contributed to 47 % of the variance in women voters’ participation in the 2013 polls in Kakamega County. Significant predictors of women voters’ electoral participation were: age, education, income, political knowledge, political interest, and sense of civic duty. The article makes recommendations for enhancing women’s electoral participation through legal reforms as well as civic and voter education.

Information is considered an important resource for women’s political participation. However, little is known about women’s access to election-related information in Kenya.  Anchored on the uses and gratifications theory (UGT), this research examined women voters’ access to political information during the 2013 Kenyan general election in Kakamega County. This study adopted a descriptive survey in which data was collected from 372 women voters using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The results revealed that women voters mainly accessed political information via radio and interpersonal sources comprising family members and friends as they were in close proximity with them. Major constraints to women’s political information access were the following: inadequate and expensive media devices and power supply, limited time, and low education and interest in seeking political information. This paper provides insight into women’s access to various sources of political information and this is essential in identifying appropriate channels for reaching out to them in counties in Kenya. Women voters’ low levels of education and Media and Information Literacy (MIL) have implications for information providers. They should use both mediated and non-mediated sources of political information, and offer information services and MIL programmes tailored to women. This study provides directions for future research on political information seeking behaviour within the discipline of library and information science (LIS) by incorporating UGT from media studies.

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