Travel and Personal

After the referendum

By Dweep Chanana ⋅ November 29, 2005 ⋅  Email this post ⋅ Post a comment

Last week the Kenyans discarded the draft new constitution.

The Orange, or No, campaign has been celebrating ever since. That celebration may be a little misplaced because people, particularly in the rural districts, were highly ill-informed on what they were voting for. Many voted because they were told a Yes would lead to dire consequences such as the loss of land ownership.

Worse, the Orange campaign has turned the no verdict into a verdict of no-confidence in the parliament and the President. They are asking for snap elections. Even those that voted no are not pleased. As they point out, correctly, Kenya has no money for yet another in a long series of elections. What is more, the Kenyans voted on the constitution - and only on the constitution.

The President is doing somewhat better. He dissolved a clearly divided cabinet. Now, however, all rallies by the Orange Democratic Movement have been banned - for national security. Can he do that, in a democracy? The Orange movement plans to defy that ban. What next?

The Kenyans defied all expectations and had an election free of violence in which people did not necessarily vote along tribal lines. Now, the politicians are turning the issue into a circus and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.