By-Elections in Kenya - Manipulating Bereaved Communities?
blurb:isstoday6Oct2008Kenya
10 October 2008: By-Elections in Kenya - Manipulating Bereaved Communities?
Seven by-elections have taken place in Kenya since the last general elections 9 months ago. The by-elections were necessary due to the killing and death of four MP’s; the contestation of two of the seats and in the seventh case, the election of the sitting MPas speaker of the National Assembly.
Significantly, all these by-elections seem to have favoured candidates from the immediate families of the former or deceased member. The same parties to which the former member belonged also retained six of the seats. The only exception was the Embakasi constituency where the newlyelected candidate came from the opposition party and was also not a relative of the deceased.
These eventsraisequestions about a possible deficit of democracy in Kenya and particularly within political parties where patronage and ethnic, regional and religious differences play a major role in the selection of candidates for the national assembly.
The by-elections were in Wajir North in the Northern Province, Embakasi in Nairobi Province, Emuhaya in the Western Province, Kilgoris and Ainamoi in the Rift Valley Province, and the most recent ones were in Bomet and Sotik also in the Rift Valley Province. The Ainamoi and Embakasi seats fell vacant after tragic killings of the Members of Parliament in unclear circumstances while the Bomet and Sotik constituencies fell vacant after the deaths of two MPs, who were also cabinet ministers in a plane crash. The Kilgoris and Wajir North were as a result of contestation of the initial poll results while the Emuhaya one was due to the election of the sitting MP as the speaker of the National Assembly.
Given the outcome of the by-elections, it would be proper to deduce that these were sympathetic elections and that campaigning has taken on a new dimension where the relatives fight for the vacant seats with the full support of the political party of the deceased member. Though there are other obvious motivational factors such as keeping the lucrative parliamentary positions in the family,political parties also played a major role in securing the vacant seats by having internal party nominations and campaigns.
In almost all the instances, bereaved families were fairly certain of maintaining the seats. For instance, the first wife and sister of the late MPs were elected in the Bomet and Sotik constituencies respectively. Although two women have been elected to parliament from one party during these by-elections, thereby making progress in terms of women’s representation in parliament, one can still ask what does this mean for increased influence of women in political parties or even policy agenda that reflect gender-related issues? Thereis still no shortcut to increased gender equality, as women still have no real influence over party agendas, intra-party elections and policy formulation.
A number of other questions arise from these observations. For example: will the cabinet slots that were held by the two late MPs be given to the new MPs or to those already fighting for them from the Rift Valley? Are the new MPs qualified to be representatives of these constituencies or do they simply have a right to inherit their spouses or relatives’ positions? This is a dilemma to be solved as parliamentary positions may end up being inscriptive positions.
Going back in time, the pattern that by-elections take in Kenya has not changed. For instance, the Hamisi and Sabatia seats went to the relatives of the deceased while the death of Mohammend Khalif in a place crash saw his son being elected to parliament after the 2003 elections. Elections are a necessary condition for democracy anddemocracy in Kenya relies on the voting process. Unfortunately, in exercising their democratic rights, ordinary citizens have not been given the space to contest as party primaries take away that right. The voting also tends to take place when people are most vulnerable-when they are grieving.
This brings about the question of a deficit of democracy. Some critics would argue that party popularity is imperative in a democracy. Political parties have always been used by political leaders as instruments or institutions through which recruitment of candidates occur, but in the case of the just concluded by-elections in Kenya, it is clear that party leaders shaped the outcome of the elections. Another issue is that of party financing, which is largely dependent on party leaders and to some extent, on public donations thatare key in organizing election campaigns. The party leaders have always held authority over party policies and decisions made by the party committees. At these committees, the candidates are chosen and endorsed.
Since there were no opponents from within the same party, the elections became purely a formality for the dominant parties. It would therefore be proper to say that the recent by-elections were predetermined,with the winner coming from either of the two dominant parties.Candidates thought anomalies usually associated with Kenyan elections (rigging and vote buying) were minimalduring these by-elections. It is disturbing that there is a high tolerance of these procedures. This could be partly attributed to the fact that Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) was under pressure to deliver. This was especially true after the Kriegler commission (led by judge Johann Kriegler to investigate voting procedure in Kenya) pointed out the weaknesses of the ECK. The Kriegler Commission, in its report released last month, recommended a total overhaul of the ECK.
The ECK clearly needed to impose itself and show its significance during these by-elections.However, since all by-elections were conducted on working days unlike during the general elections when almost everyone wasable to vote, voter turnout was inevitably low. Many citizensalso vowed not to vote again after the violent December elections – another possible reason for the low turnout.
The ECK needs to restore the electorate’s confidence and these by-elections could just have been the ideal opportunity to do so. A government spokesman was quoted as saying that the government was keen on implementing the Kriegler report recommendations. This includes the much-vilifiedposition of the ECK.
Noel Sikasa is the Programme Administrator in the Africa Human Security Initiative Project, ISS Nairobi
