Election Updates – Kenyans make huge statement

Published on December 27, 2007, 12:00 am

By Standard Team

An imposing chapter in the nation’s democratic history unfolded on Thursday as millions of Kenyans suspended all business and turned up to vote in the 10th General Election.

It was the most powerful statement of Kenyans’ desire to express their democratic right as everything else came to a stop and activity bubbled at polling stations.

Results from the massive process started trickling in last night as polling stations closed and counting got under way.

Reports from across the country indicated that the turn-out in the General Election would be the highest since Independence.

Scenes not witnessed in past elections were recorded from all corners — snaking long queues that had formed well before dawn and kept getting longer as the exercise progressed.

The nation woke up to a heavy mood of expectation and anxiety, with Kenyans destined for a common purpose that would end the grip of election fever that has engulfed it in the past few months.

The election was hit by logistical problems early in the morning that threatened to mar the sustained assurance of a smooth poll that the Electoral Commission of Kenyan (ECK) had promised.

But despite the tension, hitches and violent incidents, the process took on a face of peace, characterised mainly by a burning desire to vote.

The impact of the logistical problems was felt in Lang’ata constituency where ODM presidential candidate and former local MP, Mr Raila Odinga’s name was among thousands missing from the polling register.

Tension started building up as it emerged that the problem of missing names — which affected names starting with certain alphabetical letters — hit many polling centres in the constituency considered Nairobi’s hottest spot.

Anxiety gripped Lang’ata as Raila turned up at his centre at Old Kibera Primary, but left quickly for KICC to complain to the ECK that his name and thousands of others were missing.

Commissioner, Mr Jack Tumwa, reassured Raila that the problem was logistical and was being addressed.

Other reports indicated that several civic elections were cancelled after ballot papers reflected name mix-ups.

But the ECK moved fast to contain the situation.

The ECK Chairman, Mr Samuel Kivuitu, made a personal appearance at Old Kibera Primary School where Raila was to vote and ordered a fresh print of the voter’s register that had the presidential candidate’s name.

Raila later returned and voted and tension in the populous constituency subsided.

ECK also extended voting in Lang’ata by an hour to regain the time lost in the morning standoff.

ECK also announced the cancellation of civic elections in 15 wards across the country where by-elections will be held next year.

Cases of polling stations opening later than planned were reported in many areas, but the ECK later said voting progressed smoothly in the afternoon.

In at least four polling stations, ballots from other regions appeared, causing delay in the start of the process.

Parliamentary ballots meant for Bura, Tana River, appeared at two polling stations in Budalang’i.

Misplaced ballot papers

Ballots for Kipipiri, Nyandarua, were opened at a polling station in Ganze, Kilifi, while some more for the Central Province constituency were also found in a Kajiado North polling station.

There was tight security for the ECK centre at KICC, with the landmark building ringed with armed police officers.

Four roads that surround KICC will also remain closed until the presidential winner is announced, a police statement said.

Police headquarters explained the deployment of hundreds of GSU and Administration Police around KICC, saying unknown people planned to arm themselves with hand grenades to attack ECK officials while they announced the results.

Violence was reported in isolated pockets, but did not get out of hand.

At least four people died in election-day violence.

And a presiding officer was admitted to Ahero Health Centre with serious knife wounds after he was attacked by a youth in Nyando.

One person was shot dead and three others seriously injured when assailants opened fire at ODM supporters in Nairobi’s Kibera slums.

Two other people were feared dead after Internal

Security Assistant minister, Mr Peter Munya, ran into a hostile crowd near the Tigania East-Tharaka border.

His Toyota Prado car was burnt but he escaped unhurt.

Rongo Constituency was tense last evening after a man was killed in what was said to be a political revenge mission.

But the election had all the characteristics of a stiff competition and provided fodder for classic media footage as bitter political rivals turned up in their constituencies to vote.

Presidential candidates, ODM Pentagon members and Cabinet ministers were the top of the pick as they chose different times to cast their ballots.

President Kibaki went to vote at Munaini Primary School in Othaya, where he is a registered voter, at 10.40am. The First Lady, Lucy Kibaki, and son Jimmy accompanied him.

Raila, accompanied by his wife Ida, walked through a huge crowd who chanted in his support to cast his ballot at Old Kibera Primary School shortly after midday.

Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, accompanied by his wife Pauline, was driven to Tseikuru Primary School polling station near his Mwingi home to vote at 11.08am.

Rivals Vice-President, Mr Moody Awori, and Dr Julia Ojiambo, the ODM-Kenya running mate, voted in Funyula shortly after 7am.

Pentagon members, Mr Musalia Mudavadi, Mr William Ruto, Mr Najib Balala, Mr Joe Nyagah and Mrs Charity Ngilu, voted mid-morning in Sabatia, Eldoret North, Mvita, Gachoka and Kitui Central respectively.

Livondo voted early

Other presidential candidates, Pastor Pius Muiru and Ms Nazlin Umar, voted early morning while Saba Saba Asili candidate, Mr Kenneth Matiba, voted in the afternoon in Murang’a.

Mr Stanley Livondo, who has hit the limelight for opposing Raila in Lang’ata, voted quietly early in the morning without attracting media attention at Madaraka polling station.

Scenes of top rivals were repeated across the country in an election said to be the most hotly contested ever.

Stability and smooth process were reported in most regions in the afternoon, but violent incidents continued to rock without derailing the elections.

Voting went on well in clash-torn Mt Elgon constituency as armed police officers were sent to keep the peace during elections.

There was calm in Kuresoi, with voters turning up at mobile polling stations, but for a reported hitch when ballot papers ran out.

The ECK process received a boost as key observers issued confidence statements that the electoral body had conducted a largely free and fair process despite the logistical hitches.

US Ambassador, Mr Michael Ranneberger, gave the polling process a clean bill of health despite the hiccups.

Ranneberger termed the voting as orderly and hoped that the process continued peacefully.

“It may be too early to give an authoritative verdict of the whole process, but so far I think the ECK has handled the process professionally. The report I am getting from the over 200 US observers paint a positive picture of the process,” he said.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights also praised the Electoral Commission of Kenya for a job well done.

The chairman, Mr Maina Kiai, said in spite logistical problems, ECK had done a wonderful job in moving fast to restore the confidence of Kenyans.

“I am happy that the ECK has demonstrated that they know their job well. Despite hitches here and there, Kenyans can count on the commission to deliver,” Kiai said.

Also praising the electoral process was Muslim for Human Rights, which issued a statement in Mombasa, saying the process had largely been free and fair.

Lifted and published by Korir, API/APN africanpress@chello.no source.standard.ke

Benazir Bhutto shot dead

<Benazir Bhutto (1953-2007) – She is the first woman to rule in a muslim country. Muslim fundamentalists did not like a fact that a woman was going to take over the leadership of the country. She was considered an ally of countries fighting against terrorism.

This is a woman who had served her country twice as Prime Minister, returned recently from self-exile, now shot dead in Pakistan while campaigning for January 8th general elections.

Bhutto had just finished addressing her supporters in a rally in the run up to the coming January 2008 elections, the elections she was expected to contest in the hope to recapture power as the Prime Minister.

Her father who was one time Pakistani Prime Minister met the same fate – assassination years ago.

Bhutto lived in exile in the UK and after negotiations with the Musharraf government, she was allowed to return to Pakistan in October this year. On her return, many people assembled to welcome her home. During her welcome, 139 people died after a suicide bomber detonated a bomb. She escaped unhurt.

This time, she died with 12 of her top aides. A sad chapter has began in Pakistan because her supporters will demand answers on how this could have happened.

She met her death in Rawalpindi. She had vowed to give her life for the democracy of Pakistan. She leaves behind a husband and three young children.

Published by Korir, API/APN africanpress@chello.no africanpress@chello.no, source.aljazeeranewscast.

Lang’ata factor fear for Raila

By Matthew GathigiraThe 10th General Election is the first post-Kanu poll. It’s also the first without a Kanu presidential candidate, although all three top contenders have occupied senior positions in the former ruling party, Mwai Kibaki as founder national executive officer and part of the team that crafted the first Kanu constitution and manifesto; Raila Odinga as Secretary General for barely six months; Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka as Organising Secretary for 20 years.

A tremendous campaign has preceded Thursday’s historic poll. The campaign speeches, literature, advertisements and pure propaganda were refined to levels that far outstripped all previous efforts. And the electorate — at 14.2 million strong and Kenya’s biggest ever — is much more politically- and media-savvy and has a far greater grasp of the issues and capacity for separating fact from fiction, detecting bias and identifying propaganda.

If regime change is indeed in the air on Thursday as the Orange parties have insisted ever since the national referendum campaign of 2005, this will be the second time it is happening in Kenya in a period of only five years. Indeed, no Government of Kenya has won a national electoral event since the 1997 General Election — the massed Opposition, fronted by Kibaki, beat the ruling party candidate, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, by a landslide on December 27, 2002, 3.6 million votes to 1.8 million.

Three years later in November 2005, another massed Opposition formation beat the Kibaki Government in the national referendum Yes-No vote on the then Proposed New Constitution (PNC), 3.2 million votes to 2.1 million.

If the Opposition wins a third straight victory in a row in a national democratic event by dusk on Thursday, then a trend is definitely in the making in this country whereby an incumbent administration is a sitting duck for a determined and well organised Opposition. By this reckoning, no sitting Government of Kenya is likely to win either a General Election or a national referendum for the foreseeable future, the regime that Kenyans usher into office on Thursday, if there is indeed a change, most likely included.

There is pungent political irony in this trend, for it used to be the case that no incumbent regime in Kenya could lose an election. The word and concept of “defeat” were not in the political lexicons of President Kenyatta and President Moi. Kenyatta and Moi used Kanu to keep the Opposition divided through a variety of strategies across the first 38 years of Independence. Legislative control through the device of the one-party state, both de jure and de facto, was Kanu’s favourite tactic during the first 27 years. But then the removal of Section 2(a) of the Constitution in November 1991, the clause that made Kenya a one-party state by law in 1982, opened the floodgates for competitive politics. Still, Kanu kept the Opposition in disarray for another full decade, until it united as the National Rainbow Coalition in 2002.

Kibaki entered State House after a decade of defeat at Kanu’s hands. He is Kenya’s most persistent contestant in the presidential elections component of the General Election — this is his fourth attempt since the restoration of multiparty politics in 1992 and his first seeking re-election.

So what will it be for the President later on Thursday? A return to the bitter pill of serial defeat? The dubious mantle of making history as the first incumbent of State House to be directly defeated in an election? Remember President Moi was not the defeated candidate in 2002, he was not a contender, having come to the end of his constitutional tenure of a maximum of two terms — it’s his project for preferred successor that was felled by the Narc juggernaut. President Kenyatta lived and died without the experience of electoral defeat.

And what will it be for Raila, the President’s main challenger? A superlative, mould breaking victory, or the defeat that ends his life-long dream of national leadership?

And what about Kalonzo? He and his core supporters have spoken persistently of a “miracle” taking place and his third-horse candidature, in what is essentially a two-horse race, somehow pulling off the greatest upset victory in Kenyan political history.

And what about the prospects of a major upset or two? There are indications that PNU has laid elaborate strategies for a Raila defeat in Lang’ata Constituency in a bid to disqualify him from becoming President. The calculation is that a runoff would be called as prescribed in the Constitution. But interpretations differ sharply as to what would happen next.

According to Section 5 of the Constitution, to be validly and lawfully elected the President of Kenya, a candidate:

a) Must be elected a Member of Parliament

b) Must receive the highest votes cast

c) Must receive at least 25% of the votes cast in at least five of the eight provinces.

According to Nairobi lawyer Donald Kipkorir, in the event that no candidate meets the above three qualifications, a runoff is prescribed in law between the two candidates with the highest number of votes. Denying a Presidency-winning Raila Lang’ata is tantamount to no candidate meeting the three key qualifications. Dr Kipkorir points out that Section 12 of the National Assembly and Presidential Elections Act, Cap 7, obliges the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) to immediately set the runoff process in motion within 21 days of failure to get a qualified winner.

Dr Kipkorir opines: “The provision for runoff does not demand that any of the candidates in the runoff need be an elected Member of Parliament. This lacuna in the law is fundamental and Parliament must have intended that, in a runoff, the top two candidates need not be elected Members of Parliament. Most probably the wisdom of Parliament may have been that a country cannot be denied a President of their choice even if the candidate’s parliamentary constituency may have rejected him. This is the real lifeline for Raila Odinga should political shenanigans derail him in Lang’ata.”

But other analysts argue that Parliament’s silence on the qualifications of runoff candidates does not mean that a disqualifier at the pre-runoff stage like lack of a constituency seat suddenly becomes a qualifier or a non-factor at the runoff stage. The runoff would simply not have arisen in the first place.

However, Chapter II of the Constitution, The Executive, Part 1, the President and the Vice President, Election of President, would seem to uphold Dr Kipkorir’s view. In subsection 5(4d) it says:

“Provided that where fresh election is held pursuant to paragraph (d) of this subsection, the only candidates shall be—

(i) the candidate who scored the highest number of votes at the election; and

(ii) one among the remaining candidates who has the highest total of votes cast at the election.”

Among other dynamics, a stunning defeat of President Kibaki later on Thursday would be a tipping-point event in Kenyan history. Things would literally never be the same again in this country. What would have occurred at the ballot box would constitute a shifting of the political tectonic plates and the first real paradigm shift in our politics since the departure of the British colonist.

Among other things, a stunning victory for President Kibaki would mean that the long-awaited generational transfer of power at the very top in Kenyan politics is postponed yet again. The last time there was a generational transfer of ultimate political power in Kenya was in August 1978, when President Kenyatta died aged 89 and President Moi took over aged 54, which is Kalonzo Musyoka’s age.

Kibaki’s comeback would mean a new lease of life for the status quo. Kenya’s businesspeople and investors would greet it with equanimity. But it is critically important that President Kibaki and his handlers understand that a comeback need not be a return to the old way of doing things that gave the Orange parties so much mileage on the theme of “real change” for so long.

A Raila victory would have a huge and immediate impact. The generational and regional power shift would affect all major aspects of policy making and governance in Kenya.

The whirlwind of the clamour for change that could well thrust them into office on Thursday can be harnessed by others in coming months and years. A vast responsibility would be thrust on Raila’s shoulders by victory later on Thursday. His would be the most tremendous mandate in Kenya in decades. And he would have to be as thoughtful in victory as President Kibaki would need to be gracious in defeat.

As for Kalonzo, miracle or no miracle in 2007, there is still 2012.

On Thursday Kenya votes, and whoever wins the nation will be the biggest winner.

The writer is the Consultant Editor on the Standard’s Election Platform pullout

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Going to the polls in Kenya

The Standard Kenya – EDITOR’S COMMENT
Your vote your choice

The most important candidate in today’s General Election is not on the ballot. But it is this candidate who will enable you, the voter, to exercise your democratic right to choose your leaders and enable those leaders to govern. That candidate is PEACE.

Therefore, before you cast your vote for your preferred presidential, parliamentary and civic candidates, please remember that they will only be useful to you and Kenya when there is peace and the country is united solidly behind them.

As a media house we are appealing to all Kenyans to rely on their inner voices to preserve national harmony and security. We are also reminding those in charge of national security to ensure and guarantee public safety during and after the elections.

And you, the voter, cannot escape this responsibility. Choosing one candidate over another does not mean that the person you did not vote for is your enemy. Indeed, supporters of the person you did not vote for must remain your good friends, neighbours and countrymen and countrywomen.

Therefore, first vote for peace in your heart, wish it for your neighbour and then pray for it to prevail throughout the country during the voting and long after the results have been announced.

When peace prevails, then it is clear that you will exercise your constitutional and God-given right to choose your leaders — of your own volition and without inducement and or coercion.

The continued harmonious co-existence of Kenya’s varied races, ethnicities and religions and our national security serve as pillars of the country’s nationhood and the prosperity that is engendered for the benefit of this and future generations.

It is incumbent upon you to protect Kenya’s nascent democracy and shield it from those who would, in pursuit of personal and or vested interests, threaten to undermine it. The leaders you choose will be of no use to Kenya if their pre-occupation would be to save the country from instability that may be generated by today’s plebiscite.

It will be natural for the leaders you choose today to move to unite the country behind them because elections divide people because they are called upon to make choices. But the elected president and his team become the country’s leaders and must unite and rally the people behind them.

So who becomes Kenya’s next President is squarely in the hands of you, the voter. Similarly, who the next MP and councillor is a matter that rests with you as the electorate.

It is our considered opinion that you have to go and vote, not just because it is your constitutional right to choose your presidential, parliamentary and civic leaders every five years. An even more important reason you should vote today is that this General Election is about Kenya’s future.

By Kenya’s future we mean your future and the future of the children of your children. However, while this election is not about the past, this past is important because it must inform the present so that we may as a country decide how to grapple with the future.

The Kenyan dream was — and still is — epitomised in the call of the immediate post-independence government for the eradication of ignorance, poverty and disease.

The founding government also sought to give every Kenyan inexhaustible opportunity for advancement in an atmosphere of ethnic, racial and religious harmony and co-existence.

Of course, it was the business of government to create an enabling environment for the foregoing to thrive.

Let us therefore ask the following questions, nay, ask you to ask yourself the following questions before you cast your vote. One, which party platform sufficiently addresses the Kenyan dream as espoused by the founding fathers and expanded on it to reflect and address the present and future desires of Kenya and Kenyans?

Two, which presidential candidate has adequately addressed the issues of poverty, education, health, security, creation of wealth, equitable development and empowerment of people to always exploit available opportunities for advancement of self, communities, regions and, ultimately, the country?

Three, which of the parliamentary candidates is a ‘people person’ and has shown a clear understanding of the role of a Member of Parliament, especially with regard to mobilising wananchi to embrace and rally around certain development ideas and to mobilise resources for their execution, while leading by example?

Four, of the civic candidates on the ballot, which one showed he/she best understood the role of local authorities as instruments of grassroots participation in identification of development priorities and mobilising resources for their execution?

From these questions four important points emerge. The first is that the choice you have to make today revolves around the twin issues of the creation of the enabling environment to allow for the all-round improvement of the lot of all of the Kenyan people and the equitable distribution of the country’s resources.

The second is that you, as a voter, ought to know that there are three elections here and not one or two. To understand this simple fact is to know and understand that in your role as an elector, you have a huge stake in deciding the future of your country from the grassroots (civic authorities) through the legislative process (Parliament) and all the way to the top (the Presidency).

The third point is that you, as a voter, have a role in the democratic process that goes beyond casting your ballot. You have to be an active participant in the way you are governed and in making decisions about governance and how resources are to be used.

The fourth is that unlike the three leading presidential candidates, we have no truck with the so-called three-piece suit voting system where electors choose presidential, parliamentary and civic candidates from the same party without thinking about the manifestos, character, strengths or weaknesses of individual candidates.

Therefore, as you enter the polling booth, ballot paper in hand and as you mark it, remember that now that the politicians have spoken and now that the propaganda mills have ground to a halt, it is upon you to vote wisely, that is, with your conscience.

But to enable you do that, the entire world is banking on the integrity, impartiality and commitment to the democratic process, of the Electoral Commission of Kenya under the leadership of Mr Samuel Kivuitu.

The first thing Kivuitu & Co must have ensured by now is that the process of electing Kenya’s next president, Parliament and local authorities — that is the entire General Election — is free, fair and transparent.

While the delivery of this rests with the ECK and the security apparatus, it is the duty of every citizen to report to these authorities – and the media – vote cheating and any moves aimed at rigging the General Election.

When a poll is free and fair and is seen to be so, it makes the post-election work of people and leaders much easier. It is easier for losers to accept the results and move on and allows the winners to be magnanimous in victory. The people are also keen to buy into the unifying moves of the new leadership.

It is for the ECK and police to ensure today’s General Election is transparent, free and fair and be seen to be so.

Lifted and published by Korir, API/APN africanpress@chello.no source.standard.kenya

UN envoy in Somalia calls for release of kidnapped aid workers

Washington DC-(USA) The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, on Wednesday called for the “immediate and unconditional” release of two female staff members of the international aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières who have been abducted in the country. Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah expressed shock at the incident which occurred in Bosasso, Puntland. Kidnapping humanitarian workers is not in the interest of peace in Somalia given the country’s traditional culture of hospitality, he said in a statement issued here. Earlier this month, Mr. Ould-Abdallah told the Security Council that “the situation in Somalia is dangerous and becoming more so each day.” He urged the international community to draw up a road map towards lasting peace and stability in Somalia, warning that continuing with “business as usual” would have dire consequences for the country and the region. Somalia has been without a functional government since 1991 with thousands killed and an estimated 3 million people have fled the country. Published by Korir, API/APN africanpress@chello.no source.apa

Libya signs cooperation agreements with Iran

Tripoli (Libya) The Iranian first Vice President Parviz Davoudi and the Libyan Prime Minister El-Baghdadi Ali El-Mahmoudi Wednesday night attended in Tripoli the signing ceremony of 10 agreements in the fields of investment, marine wealth, customs, trade marine navigation, culture, higher education and tourism. This came during the current visit to Libya of Vice President Davoudi, which began Wednesday. His trip to aims to promote the bilateral relations between the two countries, especially in political, economic and cultural fields. The Iranian high official held talks with the Libyan Prime Minister and other Libyan senior officials to strengthen cooperation between their two countries as well with the African continent. In the press conference after the signing of the agreements, both the Iranian Vice President and the Libyan Prime Minister stressed that their talks were fruitful and successful. “We discussed the issues related to Iraq, Palestine and other issues, and our views are identical on all those issues,” the Prime Minister said in the press conference. The Iranian Vice President said in the press conference that developing ties with Muslims and revolutionary African countries are among the priorities of Iran’s foreign policy. Parviz Davoudi arrived in Tripoli on Wednesday afternoon and is scheduled to depart for Djibouti on Thursday after two days of talk in Libya. Published by Korir, API/APN africanpress@chello.no source.apa

UN commends disarmament operations in Côte d’Ivoire

Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) The United Nations’ Operations in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) has hailed the start of the ex-combatants’ groupings last Saturday in the centre of the country, according to a statement copied to APA on Wednesday. “The UNOCI has re-iterated its resolve to provide the necessary support to the operations undertaken to quickly end the crisis and favour the peaceful holding of free, transparent and democratic elections in the first half of next year”, the statement notes. According to the UN mission officials, “the grouping of the former fighters of the government Côte d’Ivoire’s Defence and Security Forces (FDS-CI) and the former rebel New Forces’ Armed Forces (FAFN) which was launched on 22 December 2007 in Tiébissou and Djebonoua, is an important step in implementing the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) process”. “The mission also underscores the respect for the date set by the new timeframe set up by the supplementary agreement of the Ouagadougou Political Accord”, the UN concluded, urging moreover the “parties involved” to extend the regrouping operation to other sites planned. On Saturday in the government controlled Tiébissou (centre of the country) and in the former rebel-held Djébonoua (north), Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and Prime Minister Guillaume Soro also leader of the New Forces (FN) officially launched the disarmament of the former combatants through the stationing phase. More than 300 loyalist and rebel soldiers have left the front on the Abidjan- Bouaké road. Published by Korir, API/APN africanpress@chello.no source.apa