Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Report cautions over lack of common election theme


Report cautions over lack of common election theme

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Updated 5 hrs 13 mins ago
By STEPHEN MAKABILA               
Challenges facing the electoral environment have led to absence of a single and coherent theme for the next elections, according to the latest report of the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation (KNDR).
Building a credible and an all-galvanising theme around which campaigns should revolve is critical in determining leaders to be elected, but as things stand now, there is no coherent theme for the General Election slated for March next year.
KNDR cautions that failure to ensure a credible theme or evolve the main question around which to organise the elections may result in choosing of leaders purely on account of parochial considerations.
This, it further warns, will also produce a poor agenda for the next government.
Kenyans will be participating in a transitional election with power changing hands from a retiring to an in-coming president, to be held under a new Constitution. The election is billed to be one of the biggest globally with six elective positions instead of the previous three.
Reform programme
The KNDR report, dated June 14, indicates that although effective implementation of the Constitution had emerged as an important theme, other issues competing for attention appear to be replacing it. 
“To evolve a better reform programme for the next government, it is important to create a formidable reform message as a platform on which the next group of leaders will be elected to move the country forward,” reads the report compiled by South Consulting.
The report is out of the 13th review meeting on the status of implementation of the KNDR agreements with a focus on elections, by the African Union Panel of Eminent African Personalities whose chair is former UN Secretary-General and Kenya’s chief mediator Kofi Annan.
South Consulting is the research firm designated by the Panel of Eminent African Personalities to undertake independent monitoring and evaluation of reforms.
Currently, there are two main issues competing to emerge as the main election theme, one being reforms as argued by the KNDR report. The second is ‘generational change politics’.
While the loose G7 Alliance has been advancing politics of generational change, and even at one time Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi asked Prime Minister Raila Odinga to retire alongside President Kibaki, ODM has shown indications of using the reform platform as its election plank.
Narc-Kenya party leader and presidential aspirant Martha Karua has also articulated the reform theme. When Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara was made the deputy patron of Friends of Raila campaign lobby group last week, speculation was rife Raila could take him as a presidential running mate to complete the ‘reformist ticket’.
Head of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Nairobi Adams Oloo pointed out that Imanyara could add value to the Raila presidency from two perspectives: One being whipping up the Meru vote and second winning those supportive of comprehensive reforms under the new Constitution.
“Over the years, he (Imanyara) has distinguished himself as a champion of reforms and in some way he has outgrown the Meru constituency. He basically suits the ‘reformist ticket’ if by any chance he was to team up with Raila,” added Oloo.
Final liberation
Kenya School of Law lecturer Martin Oloo concurs with Adams, noting there are all indications Raila wants a reformist campaign platform.
“Seemingly in Raila’s scheming, the coming election could bring together second liberation players to push for the country’s final liberation,” added lawyer Martin.
However, there are those who have sharply differed, among them former Trade and Industry Minister Mukhisa Kituyi, who has pointed out there is a concerted attempt to rebrand ODM as the party of reform and to define the coming electoral contest as a battle between reform and anti-reform ‘forces’.
Accountability
Dr Kituyi argued that apart from the electorate being coy with progressive reform, there is a broad perception that politicians are attempting to over-milk reform and that after two decades of fundamental institutional change, there is a sense of reform fatigue.
Kituyi said infrastructure of efficient and accountable government is in place and custodians of constitutionalism have been erected outside the Government. 
Centre for Multiparty Democracy chairman Justin Muturi says theme or no theme, Kenyans have the sovereign power of electing their president and the elections should not bother non-Kenyans.
“Theme or without theme, opinions from some firms do not matter because they are not an authority on Kenyan issues,” added Muturi.
Former Chief of Protocol in the Prime Minister’s Office, Tony Gachoka, argues a specific theme in an election is of no consequence.
“Why a specific theme? Advancing issues around election themes is just another way of trying to interfere with our internal elections,” said Gachoka.
False optimism
In the first multiparty General Election in 1992, however, the main driving theme was reforms, which also dominated campaigns in 1997. Come 2002, the theme was regime change as the country   sought to throw out the Kanu government in favour of the Narc coalition, which renewed the country’s hope, making Kenyans the most optimistic people on earth.
Set Track records
In the 2007 General Election, issues of reforms also took centre stage, especially after the divisive 2005 constitutional referendum that had divided the country along Orange and Banana camps, leading to the collapse of the Narc coalition, and formation of the Government of National Unity that enabled Kibaki to complete his first term.
Those against generational change as a theme argue age is just but a number and that leadership largely depends on ability, trust, integrity and experience.
“We are youths but we have faith in the leadership of Raila given his experience and track record,” said Ben Ombima, the ODM national youth leader.
Political competition is expected to rise a notch higher when parties subject their manifestos to scrutiny with some already coming up with radical proposals to propel them to power.

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