Kenya Needs Change In Electoral Laws

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Kenyans and Africans have several lessons to learn in the just concluded general elections in Kenya where Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta was declared winner. - See more at:

According to an article [BBC] by Calestous Juma an International development professor at Harvard University, Africa's democratic transition is back in the spotlight. The concern is no longer the stranglehold of autocrats, but the hijacking of the democratic process by tribal politics.

It was evident that Kenyans defied the issues and the policies put forward by the presidential candidates and went back to their tribal cocoons and voted along ethnic lines. One is forced to believe that only the Luhyia Community tried to vote for a leader while the rest voted for their tribal kings.

In central Kenya the Kikuyu voted Uhuru Kenyatta almost 100 per cent. Luos in Nyanza voted for Raila Odinga while Kamba Community voted for Raila Odinga just because their son Kalonzo Musyoka is Odinga’s second in command.

The western region defied their son Musalia Mudavadi’s wave and voted for Raila Odinga not because of his tribe but the fact that he may have convinced them more than Mudavadi had. Now the major question lies here, will the future of Kenya be attainable with this trend of ‘Let our man go to statehouse’?

In my earlier article about the long run to Burundi democracy some measures were taken to stabilize fragile state of the nation in Burundi, Burundi’s national assembly elected Cyprien Ntaryamira a Hutu as president who in turn appointed a Tutsi a Prime Minister. More disaster strike again in April 1994 Ntaryamira and President Juvénal Habyarimana of Rwanda were bombed in a plane sparkling the massive Rwanda-Burundi genocide which lead to the massacre to the death of a million people in a span of 100 days.

Although this may not be relevant in the context of this article, it has a under score of ethnicity and tribalism when it comes to power.

The assassination of the Hutu presidents led to the formation of Hutu rebel groups and Tutsi continued to serve in the military in Burundi. Very few Tutsi presidents fought to restore nationhood that was long gone in Burundi, Pierre Buyoya is the Man.

President Buyoya tried to liberate the dying nation of Burundi off the yoke of ethnicity by accepting power sharing between the government and the legislature. Enough of Burundi, Kenya too may be headed to the same route if the politically motivated behavior on social media and in the streets is anything to go by.

The saying “It took Kenyan political parties nearly a decade to unite and defeat Daniel arap Moi's regime” is deemed to be understatement owing to the fact that nowadays parties are associated with a certain tribe. Why is it that the APK aka ‘Mbus’ is a Meru Political party, TNA is allied with the Kikuyu, Wiper Democratic for the Kambas, Ford Kenya and UDF for the Luhyia, ODM for the Luo?

For once am forced to agree with president Moi on the very many political parties.

"If each leader wants to lead his own party that has popularity in one region, it breeds tribalism because the politics becomes regional," Moi said in 2006.

President Moi has severally cautioned Kenyans of the dangers associated with the many political parties saying that having too many parties will not help the common people.

What happened in the just concluded general election should be dealt with once for all. Parliament should amend the section which provides for a majority of votes and introduce standardized electoral points to replace the so called tyranny of numbers which have done worse than good for the people of Kenya.

Imagine a Kenya where a president will be determined by the number of points he gets from the 47 counties each awarded 3 points to beat. Imagine a country where a president should at least garner 71 points to be declared elected representing the now famous 50% plus 1 vote. Then, that would be Kenya that you and me shall be proud to be associated with, a country where tribal cocoons no longer determine the president.

According to an article [BBC] by Calestous Juma an International development professor at Harvard University, Africa's democratic transition is back in the spotlight. The concern is no longer the stranglehold of autocrats, but the hijacking of the democratic process by tribal politics.

It was evident that Kenyans defied the issues and the policies put forward by the presidential candidates and went back to their tribal cocoons and voted along ethnic lines. One is forced to believe that only the Luhyia Community tried to vote for a leader while the rest voted for their tribal kings.

In central Kenya the Kikuyu voted Uhuru Kenyatta almost 100 per cent. Luos in Nyanza voted for Raila Odinga while Kamba Community voted for Raila Odinga just because their son Kalonzo Musyoka is Odinga’s second in command.

The western region defied their son Musalia Mudavadi’s wave and voted for Raila Odinga not because of his tribe but the fact that he may have convinced them more than Mudavadi had. Now the major question lies here, will the future of Kenya be attainable with this trend of ‘Let our man go to statehouse’?

In my earlier article about the long run to Burundi democracy some measures were taken to stabilize fragile state of the nation in Burundi, Burundi’s national assembly elected Cyprien Ntaryamira a Hutu as president who in turn appointed a Tutsi a Prime Minister. More disaster strike again in April 1994 Ntaryamira and President Juvénal Habyarimana of Rwanda were bombed in a plane sparkling the massive Rwanda-Burundi genocide which lead to the massacre to the death of a million people in a span of 100 days.

Although this may not be relevant in the context of this article, it has a under score of ethnicity and tribalism when it comes to power.

The assassination of the Hutu presidents led to the formation of Hutu rebel groups and Tutsi continued to serve in the military in Burundi. Very few Tutsi presidents fought to restore nationhood that was long gone in Burundi, Pierre Buyoya is the Man.

President Buyoya tried to liberate the dying nation of Burundi off the yoke of ethnicity by accepting power sharing between the government and the legislature. Enough of Burundi, Kenya too may be headed to the same route if the politically motivated behavior on social media and in the streets is anything to go by.

The saying “It took Kenyan political parties nearly a decade to unite and defeat Daniel arap Moi's regime” is deemed to be understatement owing to the fact that nowadays parties are associated with a certain tribe. Why is it that the APK aka ‘Mbus’ is a Meru Political party, TNA is allied with the Kikuyu, Wiper Democratic for the Kambas, Ford Kenya and UDF for the Luhyia, ODM for the Luo?

For once am forced to agree with president Moi on the very many political parties.

"If each leader wants to lead his own party that has popularity in one region, it breeds tribalism because the politics becomes regional," Moi said in 2006.

President Moi has severally cautioned Kenyans of the dangers associated with the many political parties saying that having too many parties will not help the common people.

What happened in the just concluded general election should be dealt with once for all. Parliament should amend the section which provides for a majority of votes and introduce standardized electoral points to replace the so called tyranny of numbers which have done worse than good for the people of Kenya.

Imagine a Kenya where a president will be determined by the number of points he gets from the 47 counties each awarded 3 points to beat. Imagine a country where a president should at least garner 71 points to be declared elected representing the now famous 50% plus 1 vote. Then, that would be Kenya that you and me shall be proud to be associated with, a country where tribal cocoons no longer determine the president.

- See more at: http://chimpreports.com/index.php/regional-news/kenya/8731-kenya-needs-change-in-electoral-laws.html#sthash.MC5XIbZu.dpuf

Kenyans and Africans have several lessons to learn in the just concluded general elections in Kenya where Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta was declared winner. - See more at: http://chimpreports.com/index.php/regional-news/kenya/8731-kenya-needs-change-in-electoral-laws.html#sthash.MC5XIbZu.dpuf