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EDITORIAL: Region watching Kenya polls with bated breath

Thursday July 20 2017
kepoll

Kenya will hold a General Election on August 8, 2017.

By The EastAfrican

There are worrying signs that Kenya could experience election-related violence before, during and after the August 8 polls.

Some of the factors that contributed to the 2007/2008 post-election violence are already visible and the country must take urgent action to avert a repeat of the chaos.

In the past few weeks, as political and ethnic tensions escalate, two important institutions have come under attack from the leaders of the competing political groups.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto, who are seeking re-election on a Jubilee Party ticket, launched an onslaught on the judiciary following a court ruling on the tender for printing of ballot papers. The president warned the courts against any move that could see the election date moved from the constitutionally stipulated August 8.

On the other hand, the National Super Alliance (Nasa) led by Raila Odinga, has kept up a chorus of allegations that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission is under the control of the government, and is thus unlikely to conduct free and credible elections.

The attacks on the two institutions could lay the ground for a disputed election result and subsequent refusal to respect the courts’ verdict. This would only result in mayhem.

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In addition, some parts of the country are currently experiencing politically instigated and ethnic violence. There are credible fears that this violence will increase as the election date draws closer.

Yet another pointer to a violent election is the emerging culture of intolerance of alternative political views. Just last week, President Kenyatta and Deputy President Ruto were heckled in Kisumu County in western Kenya, which is a stronghold of Mr Odinga and Nasa.

In apparent retaliation, supporters of Jubilee heckled and disrupted rallies by Mr Odinga and his Nasa compatriots in Baringo and Kiambu Counties.

Such signs only serve to heighten the anxieties of the rest of East Africa and raise fears of a repeat of 2007/2008 post-election violence that affected economic activities in the entire region.

Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and eastern DRC depend on the Northern Corridor. To date, Ugandan and Rwandan traders who lost their goods during the 2007/8 post-election violence are still demanding $50 million in compensation from the Kenya government. Locally, a negative impact from the elections would be a double tragedy for Kenya’s economy, which is yet to recover from the devastating effects of the drought.

Apparently, the stage for violence had been set by the shambolic primaries of both Jubilee and Nasa that left two dead and 63 arrested.

What next for Kenya? The only remedy is for the politicians to respect the institutions concerned with elections such as IEBC and judiciary. Attacks on these two institutions must stop.

And IEBC must be transparent in all its operations by publishing a unified voters register and ensuring that all systems work, which would go a long way in saving Kenya from imminent violence.

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