The incomplete transition: The constitutional and electoral context in Kenya

Africa Today

Volumn 45, Issue 2, 1998, Pages 193-212

  Ndegwa, Stephen N ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0032394570     PISSN: 00019887     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (30)

1. For a more elaborate discussion of the effect of ethnicity on constitutional and electoral questions, particularly on the transition in Kenya, see Stephen N. Ndegwa, "Citizenship and Ethnicity: An Examination of Two Transition Moments in Kenyan Politics," American Political Science Review 91, no. 3 (September 1997): 599-616.
2. This latter mode of transition has been common in Anglophone African countries (e.g., Tanzania under Chama cha Mapinduzi and Benjamin Mkapa). See, for example, Jacques Mariel Nzouankeu, "The Role of the National Conference in the Transition to Democracy in Africa: The Case of Benin and Mali," Issue: A Journal of Opinion 21, nos. 1-2 (1993): 44-50; and Pearl T. Robinson, "The National Conference Phenomenon in Francophone Africa," Comparative Studies in Society and History 36, no. 3 (July 1994): 575-610.
3. This latter mode of transition has been common in Anglophone African countries (e.g., Tanzania under Chama cha Mapinduzi and Benjamin Mkapa). See, for example, Jacques Mariel Nzouankeu, "The Role of the National Conference in the Transition to Democracy in Africa: The Case of Benin and Mali," Issue: A Journal of Opinion 21, nos. 1-2 (1993): 44-50; and Pearl T. Robinson, "The National Conference Phenomenon in Francophone Africa," Comparative Studies in Society and History 36, no. 3 (July 1994): 575-610.
4. In addition to interviews carried out between January and August 1997, the following news sources were also consulted: The Daily Nation (Nairobi: Nation Newspapers Ltd.); The Weekly Review (Nairobi: Stellagraphics Ltd.), 1 January 1993; and http://www.kenyaelections.com. Interviewees included Dr. Willy Mutunga, Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Change, National Convention Assembly and National Convention Executive Council; Mr. Elkanah Odembo, World Neighbors and National Convention Executive Council; Professor Wangari Maathai, Green Belt Movement; Mr. Erastus Wamugo, Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Change; Mr. John Munuve, National Council of NGOs; Mr. Chris Oyucho, National Council of NGOs; Dr. Ooki Ooko-Ombaka, Member of Parliament and Public Law Institute; Ms. Grace Githu, Institute for Education in Democracy.
5. See Institute for Education in Democracy (IED), National Elections Data Book: Kenya 1963-1997 (Nairobi: IED, 1997).
6. See Stephen N. Ndegwa, Baseline Study for Democracy and Governance: Strategic Objectives for Kenya (Nairobi: USAID Research Report, 1997).
7. See National Convention Assembly, Declaration, Resolutions and Committee Reports of the National Convention Assembly First Plenary, reports presented in Limuru, Kenya, 3-6 August 1997; National Council of NGOs, "One Road to Limuru Convention," April 1997 report; Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Change, "Constitutional Reform Working Session for the Youth," report of a 27-30 March 1997 workshop; Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Change, "The Women of Kenya Have Decided: A Workshop Report on Gender Issues and the Constitution," report presented in Limuru, Kenya, 2-5 December 1996; and Law Society of Kenya, Kenya Human Rights Commission, and International Commission of Jurists (Kenya Section), "Kenya Tuitakayo: The Kenya We Want": Proposal for a Model Constitution (Nairobi: Law Society of Kenya, Kenya Human Rights Commission, and International Commission of Jurists, 1994).
8. See National Convention Assembly, Declaration, Resolutions and Committee Reports of the National Convention Assembly First Plenary, reports presented in Limuru, Kenya, 3-6 August 1997; National Council of NGOs, "One Road to Limuru Convention," April 1997 report; Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Change, "Constitutional Reform Working Session for the Youth," report of a 27-30 March 1997 workshop; Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Change, "The Women of Kenya Have Decided: A Workshop Report on Gender Issues and the Constitution," report presented in Limuru, Kenya, 2-5 December 1996; and Law Society of Kenya, Kenya Human Rights Commission, and International Commission of Jurists (Kenya Section), "Kenya Tuitakayo: The Kenya We Want": Proposal for a Model Constitution (Nairobi: Law Society of Kenya, Kenya Human Rights Commission, and International Commission of Jurists, 1994).
9. See National Convention Assembly, Declaration, Resolutions and Committee Reports of the National Convention Assembly First Plenary, reports presented in Limuru, Kenya, 3-6 August 1997; National Council of NGOs, "One Road to Limuru Convention," April 1997 report; Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Change, "Constitutional Reform Working Session for the Youth," report of a 27-30 March 1997 workshop; Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Change, "The Women of Kenya Have Decided: A Workshop Report on Gender Issues and the Constitution," report presented in Limuru, Kenya, 2-5 December 1996; and Law Society of Kenya, Kenya Human Rights Commission, and International Commission of Jurists (Kenya Section), "Kenya Tuitakayo: The Kenya We Want": Proposal for a Model Constitution (Nairobi: Law Society of Kenya, Kenya Human Rights Commission, and International Commission of Jurists, 1994).
10. See National Convention Assembly, Declaration, Resolutions and Committee Reports of the National Convention Assembly First Plenary, reports presented in Limuru, Kenya, 3-6 August 1997; National Council of NGOs, "One Road to Limuru Convention," April 1997 report; Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Change, "Constitutional Reform Working Session for the Youth," report of a 27-30 March 1997 workshop; Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Change, "The Women of Kenya Have Decided: A Workshop Report on Gender Issues and the Constitution," report presented in Limuru, Kenya, 2-5 December 1996; and Law Society of Kenya, Kenya Human Rights Commission, and International Commission of Jurists (Kenya Section), "Kenya Tuitakayo: The Kenya We Want": Proposal for a Model Constitution (Nairobi: Law Society of Kenya, Kenya Human Rights Commission, and International Commission of Jurists, 1994).
11. See National Convention Assembly, Declaration, Resolutions and Committee Reports of the National Convention Assembly First Plenary, reports presented in Limuru, Kenya, 3-6 August 1997; National Council of NGOs, "One Road to Limuru Convention," April 1997 report; Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Change, "Constitutional Reform Working Session for the Youth," report of a 27-30 March 1997 workshop; Citizens Coalition for Constitutional Change, "The Women of Kenya Have Decided: A Workshop Report on Gender Issues and the Constitution," report presented in Limuru, Kenya, 2-5 December 1996; and Law Society of Kenya, Kenya Human Rights Commission, and International Commission of Jurists (Kenya Section), "Kenya Tuitakayo: The Kenya We Want": Proposal for a Model Constitution (Nairobi: Law Society of Kenya, Kenya Human Rights Commission, and International Commission of Jurists, 1994).
12. Dr. Willy Mutunga (NCEC official), interview with author, July 1997.
13. Okech Owiti, ed., The Electoral Environment in Kenya: A Research Project Report (Nairobi: Institute for Education in Democracy, 1996), which includes Francis Ang'ila Aywa, "The Legal and Constitutional Framework Governing Elections in Kenya," pp. 39-58, and Charles Ngome, "The Impact of the Provincial Administration on the Electoral Process," pp. 72-85. See also Green Belt Movement, "Peace Trees," Dialogue Statement (Nairobi: Green Belt Movement, 1997); and Ndegwa, Baseline Study.
14. Okech Owiti, ed., The Electoral Environment in Kenya: A Research Project Report (Nairobi: Institute for Education in Democracy, 1996), which includes Francis Ang'ila Aywa, "The Legal and Constitutional Framework Governing Elections in Kenya," pp. 39-58, and Charles Ngome, "The Impact of the Provincial Administration on the Electoral Process," pp. 72-85. See also Green Belt Movement, "Peace Trees," Dialogue Statement (Nairobi: Green Belt Movement, 1997); and Ndegwa, Baseline Study.
15. Okech Owiti, ed., The Electoral Environment in Kenya: A Research Project Report (Nairobi: Institute for Education in Democracy, 1996), which includes Francis Ang'ila Aywa, "The Legal and Constitutional Framework Governing Elections in Kenya," pp. 39-58, and Charles Ngome, "The Impact of the Provincial Administration on the Electoral Process," pp. 72-85. See also Green Belt Movement, "Peace Trees," Dialogue Statement (Nairobi: Green Belt Movement, 1997); and Ndegwa, Baseline Study.
16. Okech Owiti, ed., The Electoral Environment in Kenya: A Research Project Report (Nairobi: Institute for Education in Democracy, 1996), which includes Francis Ang'ila Aywa, "The Legal and Constitutional Framework Governing Elections in Kenya," pp. 39-58, and Charles Ngome, "The Impact of the Provincial Administration on the Electoral Process," pp. 72-85. See also Green Belt Movement, "Peace Trees," Dialogue Statement (Nairobi: Green Belt Movement, 1997); and Ndegwa, Baseline Study.
17. Okech Owiti, ed., The Electoral Environment in Kenya: A Research Project Report (Nairobi: Institute for Education in Democracy, 1996), which includes Francis Ang'ila Aywa, "The Legal and Constitutional Framework Governing Elections in Kenya," pp. 39-58, and Charles Ngome, "The Impact of the Provincial Administration on the Electoral Process," pp. 72-85. See also Green Belt Movement, "Peace Trees," Dialogue Statement (Nairobi: Green Belt Movement, 1997); and Ndegwa, Baseline Study.
18. Ndegwa, Baseline Study, p. 108.
19. Harambee, or self-help development projects, are a popular avenue for linking politicians and their constituents.
20. See Frank Holmquist, "Self-Help: The State and Peasant Leverage in Kenya," Africa 54, no. 3 (1984): 72-91; York Bradshaw, "State Limitations, Self-Help Secondary Schooling, and Development in Kenya," Social Forces 72, no. 2 (December 1993): 347-348.
21. See Frank Holmquist, "Self-Help: The State and Peasant Leverage in Kenya," Africa 54, no. 3 (1984): 72-91; York Bradshaw, "State Limitations, Self-Help Secondary Schooling, and Development in Kenya," Social Forces 72, no. 2 (December 1993): 347-348.
22. Mr. Gitobu Imanyara (editor, Nairobi Law Monthly). Interview with author, July 1997.
23. Government of Kenya, The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Act, 1997; Statute Law (Repeals and Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 1997; The Constitution of Kenya Review Commission Act (Nairobi: Republic of Kenya Government Printer, 1997).
24. This section draws from a more detailed discussion and simulation of alternative outcomes of the 1992 elections under a number of different electoral systems. See Stephen N. Ndegwa, "The Relevance of the Electoral System: A Simulation of the 1992 Kenyan Election," African Journal of Political Science 2, no. 1 (July 1997): 12-40; and Ndegwa, "Citizenship and Ethnicity," pp. 612-616.
25. This section draws from a more detailed discussion and simulation of alternative outcomes of the 1992 elections under a number of different electoral systems. See Stephen N. Ndegwa, "The Relevance of the Electoral System: A Simulation of the 1992 Kenyan Election," African Journal of Political Science 2, no. 1 (July 1997): 12-40; and Ndegwa, "Citizenship and Ethnicity," pp. 612-616.
26. See Rein Taagepera and Matthew Shugart, Seats and Votes: The Effects and Determinants of Electoral Systems (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1989), p. xi.
27. See Joel Barkan, "Kenya: Lessons from a Flawed Election," Journal of Democracy 4, no. 3 (July 1993): 85-99; and National Election Monitoring Unit (NEMU), The Multi-Party General Elections in Kenya, 29 December 1992 (Nairobi: NEMU, 1993).
28. See Joel Barkan, "Kenya: Lessons from a Flawed Election," Journal of Democracy 4, no. 3 (July 1993): 85-99; and National Election Monitoring Unit (NEMU), The Multi-Party General Elections in Kenya, 29 December 1992 (Nairobi: NEMU, 1993).
29. Ibid.
30. Gatheru Nick Wanjohi, Challenges of Democratic Governance: Parliament, Executive and the Citizen in Kenya (Nairobi: National Council of Churches of Kenya, 1993), cited in IED, National Elections Data Book.