PRELIMINARY RESULTS in Kenya indicate that the country has voted in favour of a new constitution, in a referendum that will curb the excessive powers of the president and redress historical land grievances.
Part of a deal to end the post-election violence of early 2008, the new constitution will replace the colonial-era draft which has existed since independence in 1963. With three-quarters of the votes counted on Thursday evening, election officials said that 69 per cent of the nation had voted for the new constitution, with 31 per cent against it.
In an address to the nation, President Mwai Kibaki said the peaceful vote showed that the country’s institutions had come of age, adding that the new constitution should be “our shield and defender as we conquer disease, poverty and ignorance”.
However, analysts pointed out that unprecedented commitment from leaders was required to make sure it was implemented.
“Kenya is now a hostage to parliament as over 70 Bills will have to be passed in order to implement the changes heralded in the constitution” said Murithi Mutiga, a political commentator.
“That means that it will require many of the leaders in the No camp to back the changes, which means they will have to act above their own political interests. That is a big ask.”
Kenya’s president and prime minister, who represent two of Kenya’s largest ethnic groups, backed the new constitution. But in the Rift Valley, where politicians called attention to clauses related to land ownership, there was a strong No vote.
Just one-third of Kenya is arable, meaning the issue of land is high on many voters’ agendas.
Kenyan church leaders, who opposed provisions on abortion in the new constitution, denounced the result but the No campaign was quick to acknowledge defeat.
William Ruto, a cabinet minister based in the Rift Valley and prominent opponent of the draft, said he would respect the outcome. “We have had our say, and majority has had its way,” he told NTV Kenya, an independent television station.
No major incidents were reported at the more than 27,600 polling stations across the country, in what local newspapers heralded as a historic day in Kenyan politics.
The Standard said the peaceful voting process marked “a new dawn” for Kenya. “The traditional mayhem that has preceded and accompanied successive general elections was a distant memory buried by the orderly queues yesterday,” the paper said.
Financial analyst Aly-Khan Satchsaid the peaceful vote was a game-changer in east Africa’s largest economy. “I think we have reached a real tipping point. We had a constitution that was basking in the pre-colonial era. Now we have one that could transform the country,” he said.