Violence possible in Kenya presidential election, EU warns

t's "no secret" there are concerns about possible violence in Kenya's presidential election next month, the head of the European Union's election observer mission said Monday.

A decade ago, postelection violence in Kenya left more than 1,000 people dead and 600,000 displaced from their homes. It was arguably the worst upheaval the East African nation had experienced since independence from Britain in 1963.

Violence next month would create a situation "where everybody loses," Marietje Schaake said as the EU observer mission launched.

President Uhuru Kenyatta is seeking re-election against a challenge by opposition leader Raila Odinga, whom he beat in the 2013 vote. Kenyatta supporters have accused Odinga of planning violence if he does not win. Odinga has dismissed those claims, and his supporters call them a ploy by Kenyatta's supporters to win votes.

Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, were on opposing sides of the 2007 post-election violence. They were charged at the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity for allegedly orchestrating the violence. The charges were dropped due to lack of evidence, while the ICC prosecutor blamed unprecedented witness interference and bribery.

A government report into the 2007 events found that deep-seated historical injustices, especially linked to land, sparked the violence as well as unrest in the 1992 and 1997 elections.

Currently Kenya faces deadly clashes over land in Laikipia county, where more than 34 people have died since late last year as herders have occupied ranches while claiming rights to land their ancestors occupied before colonialism. The ranchers say politicians are inciting the semi-nomadic herders to take over the land, even though the military has been deployed to remove the herders.

Source: ABC

#KenyaElections: Political Parties Launch Election Campaign

Kenya’s ruling Jubilee coalition and main opposition coalition have launched their campaign platforms for the August elections.

Launching their campaign pledges the ruling Jubilee party and opposition coalition National Super Alliance have promised to transform the country and Kenyan’s lives.

Both sides pledged to improve education, health, infrastructure to foster economic growth, and to create jobs for millions of Kenyan youth. They also promise to fight corruption.

The Jubilee party led by President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to win a second term in office. The party is campaigning on a platform featuring development projects like a passenger and cargo railway to win voters in the August polls.

Political commentator Sam Kamau says the promises made by the government and the opposition are the same.

“They have focused on the same issues, even the target and the things they hope to achieve are basically the same," said Kamau. "The only thing you can say is a bit different is the spirit in the two manifestos. Partly because on the Jubilee side they have been in the government for the last four and half years and this manifesto should be an audit of some of the things they have done and therefore what they can hope to achieve if they continue in government. For the opposition it is an opportunity for them to showcase what they can do if they are given the rein of power.”

Some Kenyans are questioning whether the pledges made by the politicians can be achieved or implemented.

Professor Herman Manyora is a political analyst and lecturer at the University of Nairobi. He says Kenyans are used to false promises.

“These are things they can not do, they just promise to that extent. Therefore people are not putting much capital on this. People are not expecting anything out of them, and more importantly, our people vote along the tribal line,” he said.

The opposition is promising to form an inclusive government, solve historical injustices and unite communities.

Manyora says an equal society can help bring an end to bad governance. “All these things you say you want to do, you cannot do them if you do not have a united country. If you do not have inclusivity, people feel they belong to this country. You cannot complete road projects if you cannot deal with corruption, because corruption will eat all the money.”

Kenya has witnessed electoral violence in several campaigns over the years. In the 2007 disputed presidential election up to 1,500 people may have died and more than a quarter of a million were uprooted from their homes.

In the August 8 election, Kenyatta is running for a second term in office against several challengers, including former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Source: VOA

Using Digital and Social Media to Monitor and Reduce Violence in Kenya’s Elections

Social media and digital technology offer immense potential for citizens, policymakers and practitioners to raise awareness of, monitor, and respond to violence. With Kenya’s elections approaching, technology can help to raise awareness of insecurity, support early warning, combat incitement of violence and promote accountability.

However, digital technology also carries a number of risks. To maximise effectiveness and inclusivity, 1) greater support must be given to locally legitimate peace messaging and counter-speech; 2) government, media and civil society should collaborate to improve transparency and accountability in the regulation of online activity; and 3) social media monitoring of violence should be undertaken in conjunction with other reporting systems that seek to overcome inequalities in digital access and use.

Source: Institute of Development Studies

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How Expensive Are Elections in Kenya?

Elections in Kenya have been reported to be very expensive. The two leading political parties have lined up deep pockets in preparation for the August 8 elections.

The politicians and their political parties are planning to invest a fortune of Information Technology (IT), hiring of foreign advisers, helicopters and high-end motor-vehicles.

The official campaigns have been planned to officially commence on 28th May, 2017.Experts have estimated that a presidential candidate requires Ksh. 5 billion or USD$50 million to conduct an extensive campaign. This money will be used in purchasing of campaign materials, event organizing, communications, human resources, operations, transport and research.

Currently, it costs $2,500 an hour to hire a helicopter for the campaign. This is a damn expensive affair. Those aspiring for governorship will require Ksh. 600 million to mount an election campaign.

An aspiring member of parliament will need Ksh. 15 million to run a campaign to join national assembly. This cost may vary depending on a number of factors such as population and size of the constituency under question.

NASA vs Jubilee Party

These two party have put in place resource mobilization team to raise the required funds for campaigns.

The National Super Alliance (NASA) resource mobilization team will be led by Jimmy Wanjigi. In Jubilee Party, leading Mount Kenya billionaires will led the resource mobilization campaign.

Other options

There are several options through which the political aspirants and political parties can raises the required resources. For instance, the former president Mwai Kibaki raised resources in 2012 through his 1-million per plate fund-raising dinner.

National Exchequer Funding

The national treasury will fund the campaigns of political parties as required by the Political Parties Act. The resources will lonely be received by political parties which were able to amass at least 3 percent of all votes cast during the previous general elections.

Previously, TNA received a total of $866,679 from the exchequer. This was followed closely by $848,239 received by Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). Finally, the defunct United Republic Party (URP) received $273,688.

Political parties need these funds in order to properly campaign.

The Jubilee Party is receiving technical expertise from SCL Elections from United Kingdom. This organization is providing advice on fundraising, research and budgeting and campaign strategy.

Rwanda censors social media ahead of elections

Ahead of national elections, Rwanda’s National Election Commission (NEC) has ruled that presidential candidates’ social media updates need to be pre-approved by the organisation before the candidates can post them online.

Candidates will have to submit their social media messages to seven election commissioners at least 48 hours before their publication. Social media posts include text, photographs and videos that candidates wish to publish on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram or on websites.

According to the electoral commission, this measure is aimed at preventing “declarations, words, acts that can lead the population to acts of insecurity that could divide the Rwandan population.”

The measure to regulate social media will take effect on 14 July ahead of the presidential elections set to take place on August 4. The opposition has criticised the move saying it will be used to block any criticism of President Paul Kagame who has been in charge of the country since 1994 and is running for a third term after changing the constitution to allow him to run again.

The Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), a statutory regulator of media has also criticised the move.

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