Kenyans returned to the polls yesterday in a repeat election that has polarized the nation and is likely to be fiercely disputed in the absence of opposition leader, Raila Odinga, who boycotted the exercise. Reports said that contrary to the first election held last August, which was annulled by the Supreme Court, many polling stations in the capital and Mr. Odinga’s strongholds featured only a few voters.
An eye witness account said that after a rainy night, only a few people turned out at the polling center outside the Redeemed Gospel Church, where more than 8,000 people were registered to vote. The second election climaxed the political drama that began when the Supreme Court overturned the victory of President Uhuru Kenyatta in the August 8 elections. The apex court cited “irregularities” and mismanagement by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The decision to cancel the first poll over irregularities in the electronic transmission of votes was initially hailed as an opportunity to deepen democracy in a country plagued by disputed elections.
The incumbent president, Uhuru Kenyatta, is likely to walk away victorious after veteran opposition leader, Raila Odinga, withdrew from the re-run, insisting that since the IEBC declined to carry out vital reforms, the poll would be marred by the same flaws which caused the cancellation of the August vote. The boycott, in an acrimonious political environment marked by violence and intimidation, is likely to tarnish the credibility of Kenyatta’s victory and open the vote up for further legal battles.
Observers are worried that the dispute has plunged what used to be the richest economy in East Africa into its worst political crisis since a 2007 election sparked politically driven ethnic violence that left 1,100 dead. A report said that in Mr. Odinga’s western stronghold of Kisumu, some polling stations remained closed, while others were chained and locked.
It also said that ballot boxes and electronic kits to identify voters and transmit results did not arrive in good time in polling stations, as some electoral officials faced attacks from opposition supporters while trying to deliver voting materials.
Reports said that despite Mr. Odinga’s call for a boycott of the poll, some of his supporters actually voted at their registered centers although others said they could not find polling material or officials where they registered. A spokesman for the latter group described the decision of the opposition coalition National Super Alliance (NASA) not to take part in the vote as a “political mistake”.
According to reports from Civil Rights groups on the eve of the vote, opposition protests have resulted in the death of many Kenyans, mostly at the hands of police and in poor opposition strongholds. As Mr. Odinga, who has lost three previous elections, had declared, his coalition would transform into “a resistance movement by embarking on a national campaign of defiance of illegitimate governmental authority and non-cooperation with all its organs”.
A series of legal battles failed to block yesterday’s vote from going forward, with a final petition in front of the Supreme Court failing on the eve of the election due to lack of a quorum as only two of seven judges showed up. The European Union observer mission, which like other foreign teams has limited its work due to security fears, said the poll’s credibility had been “undermined” by the inability of the court to reach a quorum.
A statement signed by 15 envoys from the US, the United Kingdom and some European countries, expressed disappointment that Kenya had lost the chance to “come together to hold a better election”. The envoys regretted that the activities of the country’s political leaders continued to interfere with the independent operation of the electoral commission, the judiciary, and other essential institutions”.
Whichever way one looks at the dilemma in Kenya, one cannot ignore the fact that trouble looms ahead. Raila Odinga and his key supporters have made it clear that they will not recognize the government to be headed by President Kenyatta after the expiration of his current tenure. The question is – Where does Kenya go from there?
