C'wealth Group gives a damning verdict
By FRED OLUOCH
The report of the Commonwealth Observer Group on Kenyan elections released last week was generally damning on the role of the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), even though the group commended the electoral body for smooth voting and co-ordination of logistics.
It basically takes issue with the undue delay in the announcement of the results that sparked off the countrywide violence. While the process was credible till the polling day, the events that unfolded since then have eroded the confidence of the people of Kenya.
In its analytical consideration, the group says that the delay in announcing the results was the reason why some Kenyans have expressed significant concerns about the validity of the results.
"It cannot be acceptable that ECK processes do not ensure accurate and speedy transmission of results to the centre and that they appointed a number of returning officers who failed in their duties," says the report.
"The manner in which the results were announced has raised suspicion and caused widespread mistrust. It is therefore, the view of the Commonwealth Observer Group that the election process following the closing of the polls fell short of acceptable international standards," said the report in its key verdict.
The report was signed by all members of the Commonwealth Observer Group team prior to their departure from Kenya and was presented to the Commonwealth Secretary-General by the leader of the group, former president of Siera Leone, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, on January 1.
The group, which arrived in Kenya on December 19, 2007, said its mission was to determine in its own judgment, whether the elections ere conducted according to the standards for democratic elections to which Kenya has committed itself.
This was in reference to national election-related legislation and relevant regional, Commonwealth and other international commitments. The group comprised nine teams, who visited 158 polling stations in 14 constituencies across all eight provinces. It arrived in Kenya during the concluding phase of the campaigns and was able to observe the final campaigns of the three presidential contenders — President Mwai Kibaki of the Party of National Unity, Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement and Kalonzo Musyoka of the Orange Democratic Movement of Kenya.
They concluded that the campaigns were peaceful and that the major political issues addressed were ethnicity, violence, gender and youth.
Besides the controversial results, the Commonwealth Group observed that the 22-member ECK appeared to have been appropriately funded to be in a position to conduct the elections on schedule, improve electoral awareness countrywide and properly train and equip its election officials and produce the election results on time.
Similarly, it was a matter of concern to the group that the government used its incumbency for undue advantage during the election campaigns. It noted that the government granted land tenure to a number of Kenyans, increased the salaries of public servants and the president, on a number of occasions, created new districts in several provinces.
In its view, there should be a moratorium on substantial government decision making for a defined period before the election.
On media coverage, the overall impression was that the majority of the media did an excellent job in informing the voting public on the political issues relevant to the election.
However, they noted that the public-owned, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, which is required by law to provide equal and balanced coverage to all political parties participating in the elections, was biased in favour of PNU, which they termed as "regrettable."
The group acknowledged that the ECK had little or no powers at all to enforce the KBC Act as amended in 1997 to ensure fair coverage by the national broadcaster. The group expressed the need to implement better methods of obtaining compliance with these two legislative requirements during the election campaign.
In general, the group was impressed by the professionalism and training of the ECK's election officials and their determination to scrupulously demonstrate the transparency of their procedures.
The slowness of the procedures in some cases, however, led to late openings and lengthy queues, often compounded by poor lighting.
One of the key areas they noted during polling, was the different practices regarding the issuing of ballots. In some polling stations, the ECK staff validated quantities of ballots with the ECK stamp in advance of issue, in contravention of the mandated practice of only validating one ballot at a time, immediately prior to issuing it to the voter.
This practice could potentially result in more than one validated paper being issued to an individual.
However, there was a slight hitch at the constituency tabulation, according to the group. They observed that this process was generally confusing and not clearly organised.
"Some returning officers did not announce what they were doing so that agents and observers could follow. It was often difficult to observe exactly what was happening and for this reason it was not possible to evidence the consistency of the process," says the report.
The Commonwealth Group made various recommendations towards further strengthening of the democratic culture in the country. To strengthen the independence of the ECK and further insulate the institution from possible political interference, it recommends that the process for appointing ECK commissioners be subject to screening and confirmation by parliament.
Polling day procedures and operational arrangements should incorporate the following: Introduction of transparent ballot boxes, clearly marked ballot boxes with distinguishing colours, and requirements for polling staff to issue all three ballot papers at once to a voter.
Source: http://www.nationmedia.com/eastafrican/current/News/news210120082.htm
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