EISA

The Legal Framework of the GNU and the Doctrine of the Separation of Powers: Implications for Kenya’s National Legislative Assembly

The central theme of this study is that the formation of the coalition government has undermined the sanctity of the doctrine of separation of powers, is inconsistent with democratic principles, and, more particularly, undermines the right of popular sovereignty exercised by the electorate on 27 December 2007 in conformity with the Constitution and constitutionally established […]

Kenya’s 2007 Elections: Derailing Democracy Through Ethno-Regional Violence

The outcome of Kenya’s 2007 general elections exposed the soft underbelly of the Kenyan political economy. A country that, until 28 December 2007, seemed built on a solid foundation suddenly collapsed into warring ethnic constituencies, and revealed the fragile foundations upon which the post-colonial Kenyan state was built. Kibaki’s decision to steal the 2007 presidential […]

Forty Days and Nights of Peacemaking in Kenya

Recent studies on resolving civil conflicts have focused on the role of external actors in husbanding durable agreements. The contribution of authoritative parties is vital to the mediation of conflicts where parties are frequently too divided and where the stakes are too high to allow bilateral solutions. In the wide-ranging conflicts that convulsed Africa throughout […]

Ethnicity and Political Pluralism in Kenya

This paper focuses on the salience of ethnicity in Kenya since the return to political pluralism in 1991. It argues that ethnicity as a variable in Kenya’s political processes dates back to the colonial period. Successive governments in that country, beginning with the Jomo Kenyatta state in 1963, perfected the aspect of ethnicity that dovetailed […]

The 2007 General Elections in Kenya: Electoral Laws and Process

The violence that followed the 2007 elections in Kenya sent shock waves through the country and around the world and raised questions about the Kenyan democratic landscape and the perception of stability in a region which is prone to violent conflict. Having come to power on the platform of comprehensive constitutional, legal and administrative reforms […]

A Preface to an Inclusive African Electoral System Reform Agenda

The main purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of why African electoral systems should be reformed and how to do so in order to improve the quality of representation, participation, and government effectiveness. We attempt to offer a generic framework, a menu, so to speak, whereby African political parties and […]

journal of african elections vol3 number 1 transparent democratic governance in africa

The Broader Context: Mainstreaming Gender in Public Institutions of Governance and Democracy

The theme of the workshop was democratic values, processes and institutions and my paper addresses gender mainstreaming, equal and effective participation of women and men in democratic processes, and the methods of ensuring genuine and effective partnership between them. The paper specifically addresses the following question: How can Government, Opposition and Parliament ensure that all […]

journal of african elections vol2 number 2 transparent democratic governance in africa

Factional Intrigues and Alliance Politics: The Case of NARC in Kenya’s 2002 Elections

Kenya’s 2002 elections were politically momentous. The new government, made up of coalition forces, has not only paved the way for a new political dispensation that analysts anticipate will set off Kenya’s much needed economic and political reconstruction (Barkan 2003), but most importantly it provides some important lessons for the study of coalition formations in […]