Report warns ethnic politics, Hague debate dividing nation

By Stephen Makabila

The latest Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation (KNDR) report has cautioned that the atmosphere for elections is becoming more divisive.

The report by South Consulting, dated June 14, indicated the divisive atmosphere was as a result of politicians mobilising support along ethnic lines.

“The expected International Criminal Court trial of four Kenyans charged with crimes against humanity during the post-2007 election violence is also polarising the country between those who support and those who oppose the ICC intervention,” states the report in part.

National Security Intelligence Service raised similar concerns and this was conveyed by Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Parliament recently.

The KNDR report further states, “These divisions are feeding into the electoral environment through mobilisation of political support, with polarising effects. Failure to successfully prosecute politicians charged with hate speech crimes is partly responsible for this tendency.”

The report warns the tendency is likely to continue if the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission, among other players, do not investigate and demand prosecution of key players.

The report is based on the thirteenth review meeting on the status of implementation of the KNDR agreements with a focus on elections, by the African Union Panel of Eminent African Personalities whose chair is former UN Secretary General Koffi Annan.

The meeting discussed the findings of a report prepared by South Consulting – the research firm designated by the Panel of Eminent African Personalities to undertake independent monitoring and evaluation of the implementation process.

It examines the country’s electoral preparedness for the first General Election to be held under the new Constitution and provides an assessment of the extent to which the country has revised its electoral processes and implemented actions to improve management of polls.

The report notes that while the IEBC enjoyed high level of trust among Kenyans, with 80 per cent expressing confidence in the commission, the pre-election environment faced several challenges.

It recommended that the uncertainty surrounding the election date should be addressed expeditiously and decisively to allow preparations to proceed without anxiety.

Political practices
The report further noted that while the IEBC and the Judiciary continued to prepare for the elections, other key stakeholders, particularly the political parties were unprepared, and that the high level of trust in the IEBC could be eroded by the failure to enforce discipline in political practice by enforcing the law, particularly the Political Parties Act, 2011.

It emphasises that enacting laws is not enough and implementation and effective enforcement are crucial to promote an environment that will create trust in the election process to prevent electoral violence.

In terms of elections management, the report reiterated the need for all key institutions to work together in a coordinated manner.  “The speedy disbursement of funds by the Government and development partners was necessary to avoid affecting preparations. Putting in place a fool-proof system for counting votes and transmitting results should also be concluded in a timely manner,” read the report in part.

The IEBC was only allocated Sh17.5 billion out of the Sh 41.4 billion it had requested to cater for the General Election.

There are questions on whether the allocation would be enough to enable the IEBC conduct the elections and possible presidential run-off, despite the European Union (EU) pledge to support the exercise.

Electoral process
The EU team earlier in the week met Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister  Eugene Wamalwa  and pledged Sh2.4 billion to support the electoral process.

One of the reasons for the high cost is that unlike past elections, popularly referred to as three-piece, Kenyans will vote for six candidates at a go. They include president, governors, senators, MPs, women representatives, and county representatives.

Analysts argue that despite attempts by the State to overlook the elections budget, it was critical if Kenya is to avert possible setbacks in the exercise that may lead to a repeat of post-election violence.

Apart from pointing out several shortcomings in preparedness for the polls, the report highlights progress in some areas.

Top among them is reforms in the electoral framework that ushered in the IEBC. The report states that IEBC enjoys public trust and confidence, with as many as 80 per cent of the respondents saying they have confidence in the commission and believe it will conduct free and fair elections.

It however, points out that one challenge facing IEBC is voter registration, as many cases filed against the Commission’s decision on delimitation of boundaries are pending and the exercise cannot proceed before they are resolved.