Wall Street Journal - Kenyans to Vote on Controversial Constitution

August 2, 2010
by Sarah Childress, Wall Street Journal

NAIROBI, KenyaKenyans will vote on a controversial new constitution in a referendum on Wednesdaythe latest step in a series of efforts by the nation's leaders to bring political change to their country to quell tribal tensions.

The U.S., eager to bring stability to a regional powerhouse and a strong ally in its fight against terrorism, maintains a new constitution is central to that effort. U.S. officials, including the Kenya ambassador, Michael Ranneberger, and Vice President Joseph Biden, who visited Nairobi in June, have spoken at length about the importance of the draft and the need for change. More than 1,300 people were killed in ethnic violence in the country in early 2008.

"A new constitution, if it is adopted, will strengthen Kenya's democratic institutions," said Johnnie Carson, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs in a recent interview. "We believe this is an opportunity for fundamental change, but the decision for that change is in the hands of Kenyans."

The draft provides for a more decentralized democracy that checks the power of the president and establishes two houses of parliament. The current system of government allows for an imperial presidency, where the executive branch holds most of the power. Historically, whatever tribe has held executive power has become the primary beneficiary of any government largesse.

The document also tackles the controversial issues of abortion, Islamic courts and land distribution. It allows, for example, the state to seize property for the benefit of the state, and gives parliament the mandate to enact land reform to address inequities and corruption.

The draft was written by a committee of legal and other experts selected by parliament.

A July study by the Nairobi office of Synovate Ltd., a global market-research company, said 58% of 6,005 registered voters surveyed would approve the constitution, with 17% undecided. The margin of error is 1.6%.

The vote is expected to divide along tribal lines, as do most controversial issues in Kenya. Two main tribes, the Kikuyu and Luo, generally favor the constitution because their leaders are the country's president and the prime minister, who support the draft. The Kalenjin group largely oppose the draft because their main political leader, William Ruto, is against it.

The debate on the vote has been contentiousand briefly violent. In June, two explosions ripped through an anticonstitution rally in a park outside downtown Nairobi, killing at least five people and wounding dozens more. Authorities haven't found the perpetrators. Both the "yes" and "no" camps blamed each other for the blasts, heightening tensions between them.

Some Christian leaders also oppose the new constitution, criticizing its language on abortion and the Islamic courts. They say its provision allowing abortions where the mother's health is at risk is too permissive. They also oppose the recognition of traditional Islamic courts that Kenya's Muslim minority use to resolve family and other civil matters.

The Muslim communityestimated at about 18% of the populationlargely supports the draft.

A Christian American nonprofit group, the American Center for Law and Justice, which recently opened an office in Kenya, has worked to educate voters on the abortion and the Islamic-court provisions, according to Jordan Sekulow, the group's director of international relations. He said the group isn't explicitly against the draft, but that it supports Kenyan attorneys critical of the draft, in part because of the abortion and Islamic-court provisions.

The U.S. government also has worked to educate voters about what the document contains, and says it wants Kenyans to decide on the draft in a fair vote.

U.S. officials have said that after the violence in 2008, they sensed an opportunity to push for democratic change in the country because of America's popular influence, and because of the growing assertiveness of media and civil society in calling for government accountability. Washington threatened sanctions against Kenyan leaders it believed to be stalling the reform process.

Last year, the American government banned Kenya's attorney general, Amos Wako, from traveling to the U.S. because it believed he was holding back anticorruption efforts.