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Results 1 - 10 of 2 Headlines for Kenya
Kenya HeadlinesResults Page: 1,KENYA VOTES FOR NEW PRESIDENTDate Added: Sunday, December 29th, 2002Contributed by: RCN Administrator
NAIROBI, Kenya (Dec. 27) - Kenyans voted on Friday in elections ending 24 years of rule by President Daniel arap Moi, with pundits predicting the ousting of the ruling party after nearly four decades in power.
The polls mark Kenya’s first experience of a president handing over power but have avoided the kinds of clashes that killed hundreds in the run-up to previous multiparty contests. Kenyans hope Moi’s retirement will herald a new dawn after years of economic stagnation and corruption. It is only the third multiparty vote since independence from Britain in 1963. Partial results are due to begin trickling in on Saturday, but election officials say Kenyans may have to wait until as late as January 1 to hear the official result in the race to succeed Moi, who is bound by the constitution to step aside. Voting delays and mix-ups strained tempers during 12 hours of polling that began at 6 a.m. (0300 GMT), with voters jamming radio station telephone lines to complain about being left off electoral rolls or in some cases being listed as dead. "They told me my name was found in the register of dead people. What kind of joke is that?," said Rispa Otieno, a mother of seven in the Embakasi district of Nairobi. Counting began after voting closed, but election officials said voting might go on for a second day in constituencies where heavy rains delayed polling. Police said polling day had been remarkably peaceful, with only a few isolated incidents of election-related violence and no serious injuries reported. "I would describe it as fantastic, I think Kenyans have done a good job," national police spokesman Kingori Mwangi told Reuters. Mwai Kibaki, leader of the opposition National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), is widely tipped to defeat his main rival in the presidential race, Uhuru Kenyatta, the candidate of the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU). "Kibaki will win," said Katama Mkangi, sociology professor at the United States International University in Nairobi. "The will for Kibaki and for change is irresistible." Commentators said Kibaki was the firm favorite in the presidential race as NARC represents many more tribes than KANU. In scenes repeated elsewhere in the opposition bastion of Nairobi, young vigilantes kept watch around Embakasi polling station as vote counting began. A Kibaki win would be the first opposition victory since Kenya introduced multiparty polls a decade ago and would end 39 years of KANU dominance. Kenyatta, 41, is the businessman son of independence leader Jomo Kenyatta and presents himself as the torchbearer of a younger generation frustrated by years of economic decline. "Uhuru is the man for the job. He represents the new leadership we are all asking for," said Solomon Mwaura, 30, a timber logger queuing to vote in Kenyatta’s constituency. "I am educated. But to get a real job I needed to bribe someone and I didn’t have the money. And Uhuru has pledged to fight all that and get us back on our feet." KENYATTA PLUCKED FROM OBSCURITY Critics say Moi plucked Kenyatta from political obscurity last year to protect his interests, some of which are linked to the Kenyatta family, in retirement -- charges Kenyatta denies. Western observers said they had no preliminary indications of foul play by either government or opposition candidates. Senior NARC politician Raila Odinga said voters from tribes sympathetic to the opposition had been deleted from registers in Nairobi. The charge could not be verified independently. "Almost every station had the same problem (of voters not being registered)," said Gordon Streeb, an observer with the U.S. Carter Center, who visited 15 Nairobi polling stations. "It’s hard to tell if it was (just) in opposition areas... It’s hard to discern a pattern now." STABILITY VITAL FOR EAST AFRICA Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, leading the Carter Center team, said Kenya’s stability was vital for east Africa. "There is Somalia, Sudan, Congo, Rwanda and Burundi, disturbances all around. This is a peaceful place which should give us an example of what things should be like," he said. Kibaki, recuperating after neck and leg injuries suffered in a car crash earlier this month, cast his vote in his Othaya constituency. Looking tired, he voted from the back seat of his car after election officials brought out a ballot box for him. "I step down happy, having completed my two terms of the multiparty democracy," said Moi as he cast his ballot near his birthplace in the Baringo area of the Rift Valley. He will retire at the inauguration of his successor in early January. To win the presidential race, a candidate must win nationally and get at least a quarter of votes cast in at least five of Kenya’s eight provinces. Kenya is trying to claw its way out of recession. More than half its 30 million people survive on less than a dollar a day. About 10.5 million people are registered to vote. Electoral officials expect turnout above the 67 percent seen in 1997. _____________________________________________________ Kujichagulia (KOO-GEE-CHA-GOO-LEE-AH) - So that we will remember that it is we -- not other people, places, things or events -- that shape and determine our present and our futures. "You Must Come Home To Your Own" Disclaimer: Please note that views and opposing viewpoints expressed in this forum are the rights of individual senders. Respect for other people’s views no matter how they differ from yours is the corner stone of this forum. To Subscribe, send an email to: Chat-AfriK-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send an email to: Chat-AfriK-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Regards, Martin ’matto’ Akindana Moderator. Results Page: DIPLOMATIC SPAT BETWEEN KENYA AND WESTERN ALLIES BREWINGDate Added: Tuesday, July 9th, 2002Contributed by: RCN Administrator
The Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned July 6 that the country would sever diplomatic ties with nations that meddle in its internal affairs. The threat follows comments by the British and U.S. envoys to Kenya regarding possible plans to extend the parliament’s current term and delay general elections currently scheduled for December.
Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi’s final term in office is up at the end of this year, and he and his allies are maneuvering to extend their stay in power. But Moi has little support for such a plan, while the hints by Britain and the United States that it’s time for new elections could sour short-term cooperation with Nairobi. Kenya only recently became strategically important to the West. Due to its geographic location, the country provides a natural base for naval operations in and around the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Sea. The United States expanded military ties with Kenya after Sept. 11, and German and British ships are stationed in the port of Mombasa as part of the U.S.-led war on terrorism. However, Kenya’s political stability is rapidly deteriorating and will likely get worse as the elections approach. The end of Moi’s reign will be only the second time the country has experienced a change of leadership since its independence from the United Kingdom in 1963. General elections in 1997 heralded widespread violence and voter intimidation. The stakes are even higher this time since Moi can’t run again. But should the president try to delay the elections and hold on to power, the situation would only get worse, with campaign violence turning into even broader-based political upheaval. In the latest bid to hold off the poll, Moi ally and ruling Kenyan African National Union (KANU) party secretary-general Raila Odinga has suggested that the parliament’s current term be extended for several months in order to allow a review of the constitution -- commissioned by Moi -- to be completed. This suggestion sparked a popular backlash and has for the moment been tabled, but speculation remains rife that the December elections won’t happen. That concern is likely what prompted both the American and British envoys to Kenya to speak out. U.S. Ambassador Johnnie Carson said during a Fourth of July celebration that "a commitment to timely elections under the rules of the present constitution will be regarded by the international community as proof of Kenya’s maturity and standing as a constitutional democracy," Nairobi daily the East African Standard reported July 6. A few days earlier, British High Commissioner Edward Clay said during a meeting with a top Kenyan government official that "the possibility of a constitutional amendment to extend the life of parliament seems to us the least desirable of outcomes," the East African Standard reported. Having made their positions clear, the American and British officials have also created a potential opportunity for Kenya’s opposition to exploit. With Moi maneuvering to stay in power -- either directly or through a puppet successor -- opponents to the president both within KANU and among the opposition National Alliance for Change may try to cultivate relations with the United States and Britain. Should Moi find a means of prolonging his hold on power, these factions could then look to Washington or London to pressure for change. But by taking a stance now, both Britain and the United States have put Moi on notice, which in the short term could hurt the country’s ties with the West. A severing of relations still isn’t on the horizon, despite the Kenyan government’s warnings. Even so, antagonism between Kenya and both Britain and the United States could create hurdles for the U.S. allied forces based in Mombasa, with Moi allies disrupting or delaying access to supplies and services. |
