As the candidate lists for the 2026 Local Government Elections are finalised, one trend is hard to miss, the rise of personality politics in small and emerging parties. From reality TV stars to former celebrities and academics and podcasters, parties appear to be banking on name recognition over track record to win votes. So what does this say about the quality of our democracy? Are we voting for people or for policies and promises made in manifestos? To answer this and more, we spoke to  Dr. Kagiso Pooe, Public Policy specialist and at the African school of Governance in Rwanda, to unpack the politics of personalities.