(Newswire.net — August 7, 2017) — On August 8, 2017, Kenya election will finally take place. BBC asked experts to answer some questions that worry the world ahead of the voting.
Ethnic question
Almost all political leaders in Kenya have got accustomed to relying on the great support of their ethnic group members. There are five large ethnic groups in Kenya, making up over 70% of the inhabitants. These are Kalenjin, Luhya, Kikuyu, Luo, and Kamba. So, a candidate must gain the trust of ethnic alliances to take the presidential office. Moreover, ethnicity is important in the senate, the MP, and local votes.
Conversely, Kenya`s president Uhuru Kenyatta expects the upcoming Kenya election to be won not on ethnic basis but on major economic issues, mainly the growing food cost. The opposition accuses the current president of not anticipating food shortages following from the continuing drought.
Electoral commission and trustworthy election
In January 2017, a whole new team of election officials took up its duties. The former team was blamed for mishandling the 2013 Kenya election. The new electoral commission wants to convince everyone that it has been working on correcting the mistakes of their predecessors. The key to them is postponements in getting election materials and the absence of trained staff on using the voting technology.
Now the commission has a unique Integrated Election Management System. It will be used to confirm both voters’ registration and the eligibility of the electorate on the Election Day. The system will also count the results and transfer them to a general tallying Center.
In February 2017, more than 65% of the respondents told they trusted the new electoral commission.
Kenyan troops in Somalia
Uhuru Kenyatta said that Kenyan troops, as part of its peacekeeping mission, would stay in Somalia until stability and peace are restored. Presently, more than 3,600 Kenyan soldiers serve in Somalia (Amisom) under the UN mission. The opposition, however, announced that it would withdraw the troops from Somalia because there was no reason to remain there any longer.
Since the 2011 intrusion, al-Shabab radicals have committed numerous attacks in Kenya (148 students killed in Garissa University, attacks in Westgate mall in Nairobi). In January 2016, almost 150 Kenyan soldiers were supposedly murdered after al-Shabab`s fighters had attacked a military base. Plenty of troops were captured and later were shown on the radicals’ propaganda videos.
Therefore, the official position of both current president and NASA on this issue can play a significant role in the voting process.
Post-election violence
The Assistant Professor of Georgetown University (USA), Ken Opalo, told that post-election violence would surely be. He added, however, that it would probably be an echo of what was at stake, but would not turn into wide-ranging disorder and state letdown.
The commentator on Kenyan politics Nic Cheeseman said that confused party primaries were a real reason to be concerned. However, they will not lead to bigger conflict on the Election Day.
The actual picture of Kenya’s economy
Since 2012, Kenya has been showing stable economic growth rate, averaging 5% yearly. Nevertheless, increasing costs of essential goods (maize flour, bread, milk, etc.) have already pushed price rises to 14%. So, the considerable part of Kenyans has to struggle to survive. People even use the #CostOfLivingKe hashtag to show the prices of essential items and how they change their lifestyles.
The CEO of the Institute of Economic Affairs, Kwame Owino, told the BBC that Kenya`s economy experienced a reduction every election year. According to him investors just wait for the winner. Mr. Owino also added that presently some companies started to cut down employment, while the informal sector continues to be the largest employer.
UNDP statistics show that Kenya has the maximum unemployment rate in the region – 40%. It means, according to Mr. Owino, dispassionate people will vote for a candidate who they are sure will best work for their economic interests.
Corruption in Kenya
In 2016, Transparency International placed Kenya at position 145 out of more than 170 nations. It accused Kenya’s low ranking on the uselessness and unskillfulness of anti-corruption agencies.
John Githongo, the anti-corruption campaigner, called Uhuru Kenyatta and his administration the most corrupt ever in Kenya’s past. Mr. Githongo cited the major scandals concerning payments to phantom firms and supposed inflation of costs of projects.
President Kenyatta in his turn informed that the courts undermined all his anti-corruption efforts. The president added that all courts had been slowing prosecutions of the anti-corruption agency. In 2015, the current president finally dismissed six ministers and several high-ranking officials for corruption accusations.
Some high-flying members of NASA were also involved in the main scandals. However, they immediately blamed the government for scapegoating.
Barrack Muluka, the respected Kenyan political analyst, accused Kenyans themselves of the major corruption problems. He is sure that their society blinds ordinary people. “A minister can steal everything, and people will be pleased because it is “our thief.” It is the normalization of the ridiculousness. Kenyan major criminals have by now become prominent politicians,” the analyst concluded.