The people have spoken, what next for new constitution?

The Standard Comment

Today, the country is no longer dealing with what if ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ wins or loses. Kenya has a new constitution that is entirely driven by the wishes of the majority of the people. It is a logical progression from the Lancaster House Constitution that ushered in Independence, and the first republic, from British colonialism in 1963.

This journey to the uncharted tomorrow began yesterday when the Interim Independent Electoral Commission declared the official results of the national referendum vote conducted on Wednesday.

Following the people’s verdict, and as arbiters in the adoption and promulgation of the new constitutional order, it is now imperative for the political leadership and all stakeholders of this beloved nation, the people, to seize the opportunity and turn a new leaf of facing the realities of implementation.

The easy part of this onerous national duty — of lobbying, talking, campaigning and voting — is over. The next is learning to live with the new order, restructuring the State, actualising reasonable expectations of the electorate and resolving the fears associated with the new constitution.

The hard part, which requires nationalistic, conciliatory and transitional leadership, will be the greatest test for the new constitutional dispensation. The country shall be looking up to President Kibaki, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and the whole political leadership to provide sound direction on this new frontier.

Public interest

The next step will even be harder, especially reconciling the expectations of the majority and the fears of the minority in a country where both groups have to — and must — live, and learn to live with one another.

There is, to be sure, only one Kenya for all Kenyans.

It is in this spirit that as a newspaper that has aligned itself to championing public interest, The Standard shares what in its view are the obtaining demands for the nation.

First, we commend the people of Kenya for demonstrating maturity in exercising their democratic rights in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. This has made our country stand tall in the region and internationally, as one that practices democracy, no matter how polarising some of the issues in contention are. Indeed, the prophets of doom had predicted an environment muddled by chaos, intolerance and violence during and after the exercise. This was not to be, and the verdict represented the will of the majority.

Secondly, the nascent IIEC under the chairmanship of Mr Issack Hassan is to be commended for its professionalism, notwithstanding the limited resources and operational challenges. They have indeed proved that they can be relied upon to oversee credible elections, if provided with adequate resources to aid in complete automation of the electoral process.

Thirdly, the collective political leadership has demonstrated magnanimity in their appeal for peace and respect for each other’s divergent opinions for the collective preservation of harmony and stability of the Kenyan nation.

In particular, the fact that those whose desire was to reject, amend and adopt the Proposed Constitution have conceded to the will of the majority signifies growing political maturity.

Fourth, we urge caution that the adoption of the new constitution is just but one step of what will be a long journey of implementation.

Indeed, much effort should be spent on determining a well thought-out and sequenced programme, to ensure orderly implementation of the new constitution, rather than on celebratory exercises that can only serve to polarise the country further.

In the end, the referendum was about adoption or rejection of the Proposed Constitution, and the majority have spoken and made an eloquent statement on the kind of laws they want for a new Kenya. But it would be absolutely necessary to address the concerns of part of the population that had a different view, to give them a sense of belonging, purpose, and role in the transition to the new order.

The success and endurance of any implementation of the Proposed Constitution would depend on how some of the issues that have proved contentious — such as abortion, land and the devolution question — are addressed, to bridge divergent concerns.

This must be done not just for the sake of accommodation, but also because in most of their campaign forays, certain shortcomings of the endorsed constitution were identified, and each side to the constitutional debate agreed some amendments would be necessary.

Addressing concerns

The point of departure was when the amendments would be considered. Now is the time to look at them afresh — outside of the passions and propaganda of the campaigns — to appreciate their value to public governance and the moral health of the new republic.

‘No’ wanted the identified flaws amended before the referendum, but ‘Yes’ — through its top leadership — promised these would be considered after the plebiscite.

It was nearly a done deal, without being formalised in a memorandum of understanding, that at some point, issues about devolved units, administration and ownership of land, and moral questions like the Church’s concerns on abortion would be redressed.

This must be done in due course, to give everyone a sense of belonging and ownership of the new laws. But these concessions should not mark the beginning of another season of rancorous exchanges about the new order.

Fifth, the spirit of subsidiary legislation must demonstrate that nothing was intended to have the consequence of any retribution on any interest. Indeed, the subsidiary legislation should now serve as additional pillars of bridging any area of ambiguity and potential abuse that could contribute to further polarisation.

The constitutional actors must therefore turn their focus and effort towards catering for the collective interest of the wider Kenyan community.

This should include how the proposed Land Commission will exercise its constitutional mandate, while preserving the rights of landowners as guaranteed elsewhere in the endorsed Constitution, and the management of devolved resources.

Sixth, the Church should now proactively play its leadership and spiritual nourishment role, by taking on a conciliatory mandate for the flock that may have adopted divergent views on many issues.

Start rebuilding

As for the people, we must stay engaged in overseeing how our leaders seek to implement what we have vested on them through this new constitution. We must also demonstrate that we hold the ultimate key in determining the accountability of the political leadership to us, the people.

We must remind them that the people remain the masters and not the vice-versa as blatantly displayed by some of them once elected into office. We must also remain proactively engaged in the evolution of our democratic practices by participating in civic debates and elections.

We must not cry in vain, as we have the power to place responsible leaders in positions of authority to serve the people through a democratic electoral process.

The time to start rebuilding is now, and Kenyans must be on this road together, both in will and purpose.