Kenya Election (2013) Update

In my last post I asked for prayer for the nation and the people of Kenya who on March 4 this week, underwent their first national election since 2007.  After the election results were announced in 2007, horrendous violence broke out.  About 1200 people were murdered and countless people became internal refugees as clashes broke out over ethnic rivalries and Presidential election outcomes. It took a lot of negotiations, diplomatic interventions and Constitutional reform to try to bring hope to the ordinary citizen of Kenya.

National elections again took place on March 4, 2013.  One of the candidates vying for Presidency (Uhuru Kenyatta) and his running mate (William Ruto), face crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) of the Hague.  Uhuru Kenyatta's trial  at the ICC was to begin in April but as of March 8th his trial date has been set for July 9, 2013.  Generally in courts, one is deemed to be innocent until proven guilty, but the ICC and many Kenyans, and indeed even foreign governments, have so far acted as if these individuals are presumed guilty until proven innocent. Many people base their feelings and opinions about the individuals charged, based on their ethnic or tribal affiliation and the history of the political divisions in Kenya.  Often political leadership determines patronage for the best jobs and contracts or ensure that particular tribes wield a lot of influence. It is difficult for a foreigner to understand why and how this happens unless they understand the colonial history of the country, the transition of the country to democracy and the "tradition" of corruption that has flourished in the country since the transition.  Most ordinary citizens of the country have not benefitted from post-colonial democracy and most just want to have equal opportunity to education and a livelihood. Most also want good and affordable health care and better infrastructure. None of this is really possible as long as the country remains divided along tribal or ethnic lines.  There are many examples of how this kind of co-existence can lead to devastating impacts on a country.

Nairobi, Kenya's Capital

During Monday's election some people died.  I'm not sure the exact number but the reason seems to be attacks on the electorate by members of a separatist party.  For the most part, the elections were conducted peacefully although the fact that many workers did not return to work and have been anxious about the election outcomes give one a good idea of the state of tensions in the country.

An overwhelming turnout of 70% of the registered voters (14.3 million people) queued in line for hours upon hours to cast their votes. The people have been sitting on tenterhooks since Monday, as they still do not have final results of the elections.  To give you some idea of the massive scope of this election process (and hopefully some idea of the logistics, monetary investment & time required to conduct it and to tally the votes, there are 290 polling stations with 10,000+ candidates.  They are vying not only for the position of President, but also Governors, Senators, Members of Parliament and Women's Representatives.

Kibera Slum, near Nakuru, Kenya.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission  (IEBC) of Kenya is responsible for tallying the election results.  Legally they have 7 days to do it.  Kenyan voter expectations were high and they expected results on Tuesday because the initial tabulation and transmission of voter results was to be done electronically.  The electronic system failed and the IEBC has had to alter it's process and rely on manual tallying.  They have been giving updates about their process and giving new forecasts as to when they expect to announce final and official elections results.  But tensions rise each day.  Each day of delay leads people to think that something is amiss and that the process is being rigged.  This is what happened in the 2007 elections which ultimately ended in violence.

Look out along the Nairobi-Nakuru Hwy. overlooking the Great Rift Valley.

All returning officers from all parts of Kenya, including some very isolated areas of the country, have now made their way to Nairobi.  As of Wednesday they are all together undergoing the tallying of the votes. The Chairman of the IEBC, Isaack Hassan, has appealed for patience among his countrymen.  He has appealed to Kenyans to await the official results has tried to reassure them that given the security of the tabulation system, it is not subject to vote rigging.  Now however, one of the Presidential candidates, Raila Odinga (as reported in at least one paper), and his running mate (Kilonzo Musyoka) have called into question the credibility of the tallying process.  It is this kind of talk that stirs up the emotions of people  although the running mate did specifically appeal for calm and for the tallying process to be halted and started anew.  Raila Odinga was also a Presidential candidate in the 2007 elections and so it is understandable why and his running mate feel frustrated by the issues with vote tallying. It is also difficult for people at the grassroots to remain calm precisely because they felt cheated in the last election.  Some people, including me, think, it would have been more prudent for the political candidates to wait until after official results are announced before determining what interventions are needed. In fact, I believe the new Constitution of Kenya would not permit the IEBC to halt tallying in the midst of it.  They must return an official count within 7 days.  I believe that those that have standing to dispute the results can then file a claim in court.  The courts have apparently geared up to ensure that such claims are dealt with expeditiously.

A busy street on one of Kenya's busy cities. I cannot remember where but I think it is in Nakuru.

Schools are still closed for the protection of the children.  Government offices have remained closed as Kenyans anxiously await the announcement of final presidential results.  Today (Thursday) civil servants were ordered to return to work by 8:00 a.m. Friday.  The private sector also appealed to workers to return to work. I've heard that street vendors are back on the streets selling their wares.  They are too poor to miss work and prices for food stuffs have tripled over the past few days. My guess is because most stores are closed  there is a small  opportunity for poor vendors to try and make some money. There are also probably not as many customers on the streets as people sit at home waiting for election results.

Street vendors along a busy highway.  The cabbages in Kenya are huge.

Please continue to pray for the election outcomes, the protection of the Kenyan people and their beautiful country. It is Friday tomorrow and the expected day of official election results though the IEBC tecnically has a few more days if required. Updated March 8: 2:25 p.m. Kenya time:  The race is down to the last moments with the top candidate, Uhuru Kenyatta hovering near 50 percent.  To win the Presidency, a candidate must get 50% +1 vote to win, otherwise the country will face a run-off in April.  Groups of security forces are starting to appear in the streets of the cities to ensure they are ready for any potential eruptions.

On my side of the world it is wee hours of the morning and I need to get some shut eye. I will learn of the new President on Friday my time.  Update March 8: 11:27 p.m. Kenya time:    There is still no clear winner but with 271 out of 291 constituency votes tallied, it appears that the leader of the Jubilee Party, Uhuru Kenyatta, is set to win on the first round.  Update March 9: 12:04 a.m. Kenya time:  A representative of the IEBC has just announced that final and official election results will not be announced until 11:00 a.m. He also announced that this was to maintain the integrity of the process which includes an audit of the final tallies, and the presence of representatives of all the political parties. Update March 9: 6:54 a.m. Kenya time:  The media is reporting that the IEBC quietly announced Uhuru Kenyatta as the new President of Kenya at about 2:00 a.m. local time.  The margin of victory is slim.  I believe the IEBC will still make an official announcement at 11:00 a.m. as planned. Raila Odinga,  the other lead Presidential candidate, is expected to make a statement sometime on Saturday morning.  Update March 9: Approximately 2:45 p.m. Kenya time - James Oswego, CEO of the IEBC and Isaack Hassan announced the official results of the election and declared Uhuru Kenyatta the new President-Elect. They also handed him one of 3 certificates with the official results as they are bound by law to do.  There are two other certificates of the official election results, one for the sitting President, Mwai Kibaki ,and the other for the Chief Justice of Kenya, William Mutunga.  Results - Uhuru Kenyatta 6,173,433 (50.07%); Raila Odinga 5,340,546 (43.31%).  Both Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga give speeches to their countrymen.  Uhuru Kenyatta gave an excellent Presidential type speech and thanked everyone who ran for office and ensured a robust democratic process.  He thanked the people of Kenya and pledged to work with all presidential candidates to move Kenya forward.  His Vice-President-Elect, William Ruto, introduced him and moved me to tears and laughter with his praise to God for the miracle of their election victory, and his anecdote about when he first met Mzee Kenyatta.  The Honourable Raila Odinga, gave a speech in a different location and indicated that he will contest the electoral outcomes in the Supreme Court, which is his legal option.  He also appealed to Kenyans to remain peaceful while he undertakes the legal challenge.

Many people seemed jubilant about the election outcomes despite the long and tiring process of the elections.  Media houses showed revellers in different cities across the nation.  One especially moving clip I saw was when a group of Kenyans marched along the streets of Nairobi chanting and singing.  They came to a stop at Jomo Kenyatta's mausoleum, knelt on the sidewalk, raised their hands and prayed to God. Jomo Kenyatta was the first Prime Minister, and later President of Kenya, and he also happens to be the father of the new President-Elect,  Uhuru Kenyatta.  Kenya has turned a new chapter in it's political development and has matured and taken another step forward in it's democratic development.

I thank those of you who prayed for Kenya and her people. I thank God that the Kenyan leaders also pray and look to God for his wisdom and help.  I pray that God would continue to lead them and guide them as they continue to grow their democracy. God bless Kenya!

Once things have settled down, I hope at last to post about my giveaway.  For now it seems inappropriate as I wait for the outcome along with my friends who live so far away.

God bless.

 Pray without ceasing.

1 Thess. 5:17