KENYA: Preparations for referendum on new constitution

Record ID: 361512

  • Title: KENYA: Preparations for referendum on new constitution
  • Date: 2nd July 2010
  • Summary: BODIES OF PEOPLE BURNT IN HOUSE
  • Embargoed: 17th July 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA1CCPQVAVRSG4ZMV1WDNO8G6WK
  • Story Text: Kenyans will vote on Wednesday (August 4) in a referendum on a new constitution, seen as important to avoid a repeat of election tribal bloodletting, which took east Africa's Largest economy to the brink of anarchy in 2008.
    A previous attempt to pass a new constitution failed in 2005.
    The draft proposes a presidential system but with greater checks and balances on executive power, a fundamental shift seen as an essential tool to remove the tribal winner-takes-all approach to past elections.
    A new constitution formed part of the deal that brought the current coalition government together after the contested 2007 presidential election, which triggered violence that left at least 1,200 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.
    Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki addressed a rally in support of the proposed constitution on the final weekend of campaigning before the referendum.
    "We have been divided in the past, people were in small splinter groups, but now we are together. We can see where we are going as a people and we will succeed. Therefore there is no need for anyone else to drag us behind or even stop us," he said on Sunday (August 1).
    Kenyans have been waiting decades for a new constitution to replace one dating back to independence from Britain in 1963 that critics say has exacerbated corruption and tribalism.
    Prime Minister Raila Odinga told the rally the new constitution would mark the beginning of a new Kenya.
    "This has been a very long journey and many have died along the way, others have been maimed and others have become orphans. Some of us are lucky to be here and we have a responsibility to make sure that the flag is flown high up. This is going to be a new Kenya - the re-birth of this republic will be on the 5th of this month."
    The proposed draft faces opposition from a group of parliamentarians and some church leaders led by Higher Education Minister William Ruto and retired President Daniel Moi.
    The three main issues that divide the "yes" and the "no" camps most are land ownership, legalization of abortion in certain cases and the inclusion of Muslim Kadhi courts.
    "We stand as the people of Kenya to say 'no' to this constitution. The contest is between people on the other side who tell us they are tired, who tell us they have waited for too long, who do not want to read the contents of the draft and those of us who say we not only want a new constitution; we want a just and fair constitution for our country," minister William Ruto told a rally in Nairobi.
    The referendum has heightened differences between Kenya's Muslims and its Christian churches, which have criticized the draft constitution for including the Kadhi courts, saying it would give power to religious courts in a secular nation.
    The religious tensions coincide with security concerns in Kenya's Rift Valley which was most affected by the 2007 post-poll chaos.
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