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 the National Rainbow Coalition government, headed by Kibaki, repeatedly reneged on promises to institute the reforms necessary to secure a new democratic dispensation and redress past imbalances. The consequence was a closely contested election, ethnic division, a flawed electoral process, a weak institutional framework and post-election violence that resulted in death, displacement and the destruction of million of dollars worth of property. This paper analyses the political and electoral environment in which the elections were held and attempts to explore the legal and constitutional framework governing elections in Kenya as well as to make recommendations for the democratisation of the electoral process.

File Type: pdf
Categories: Journal of African Elections
Tags: African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, International Review Commission (IREC), Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), Party of National Unity (PNU), Post Election Negotiation Committee, the Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa, Universal Declaration of Human Rights