Three presidential candidates barred from standing against Rwanda's incumbent Kagame

Rwanda’s electoral commission has barred three candidates from running in next month’s presidential election, while allowing two opposition figures to stand against incumbent President Paul Kagame.

Amnesty International, meanwhile, warned that the election would be held under a "climate of fear" and repression.

Diane Shima Rwigara – hitherto the only female contender - Gilbert Mwenedata and Fred Sekikubo Barafinda have been barred from running.

Rwigara, who was standing as an independent, said last week that local leaders threatened her supporters while they were collecting signatures for her nomination.

Rwanda’s electoral commission has barred three candidates from running in next month’s presidential election, while allowing two opposition figures to stand against incumbent President Paul Kagame.

Amnesty International, meanwhile, warned that the election would be held under a "climate of fear" and repression.

Diane Shima Rwigara – hitherto the only female contender - Gilbert Mwenedata and Fred Sekikubo Barafinda have been barred from running.

Rwigara, who was standing as an independent, said last week that local leaders threatened her supporters while they were collecting signatures for her nomination.

Rwandans go to the polls on August 4. The choices on offer are Paul Kagame – President since 1994 - Frank Habineza of the opposition Democratic Green Party and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana.

Habineza’s Greens are the only opposition party allowed to operate in Rwanda.

Observers say Kagame’s victory is overwhelmingly likely.

Rwigara was banned from the race after the head of the government electoral commission accused her of using the names of long deceased persons on her list of nomination signatures – as well as the names of others who belong to a rival political party.

Amnesty International said Rwanda has seen two decades of sometimes deadly attacks on political opponents, journalists and human rights activists. The NGO said major political reforms are necessary.

"Since the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front took power 23 years ago, Rwandans have faced huge, and often deadly, obstacles to participating in public life and voicing criticism of government policy," Muthoni Wanyeki, an Amnesty official in East Africa, told AP.

Kagame’s government has been accused of responsibility for several killings and disappearances of opponents, journalists and human rights activists. He has led Rwanda since the end of the country's 1994 genocide.

The longtime President is often praised for bringing stability and higher living standards to the country. However, critics decry what they see as authoritarian tendencies in response to legitimate opposition.

Source: (FRANCE 24 with AP and AFP)

#KenyaElections: No changes to the voter register, candidates' list - IEBC

The electoral agency could be headed for a fresh confrontation with the Opposition and candidates whose poll disputes are still pending in various courts.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) yesterday declared that it would not allow any further changes to the voter register and list of candidates. The Raila Odinga-led Opposition has been agitating for the removal of dead voters from the register.

However, IEBC yesterday cited tight timelines as the reason for not allowing any further changes. Addressing a press conference in Nairobi, IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati said dispute resolution processes were taking too much time, explaining that further delay could derail the election preparation process.

He said the electoral system in place requires IEBC to load details of candidates in all the 45,000 Kenya Integrated Elections Management Systems (KIEMS) kits, a process it argues is time -consuming.

"Rather than risk the realisation of the entire polls on August 8, the commission has resolved that no further amendments to the candidates' list and the register of voters shall be introduced at this stage," Mr Chebukati said. The declaration is expected to put IEBC at loggerheads with the Judiciary.

On Wednesday, Chief Justice David Maraga warned the commission against printing ballot papers until the ongoing cases are concluded. But Chebukati complained that the courts were too slow and the commission could not continue waiting for the determination of the cases.

"Under the law, political parties were required to nominate their candidates and resolve intra-party disputes at least 90 days prior to the election day. The commission was required to register the candidates at least 60 days to the election day and a period of 10 days for disputes in resolution.

"However, a month to the polls we are concerned that disputes continue in courts and at the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal," he said.

IEBC, however, indicated that the affected candidates could still participate though their results would not be transmitted electronically.

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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