CEDMACCONSORTIUM FOR THE EMPOWERMENT AND

DEVELOPMENT OF MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES

KENYA ELECTIONS DOMESTIC OBSERVATION FORUM (KEDOF)

Thematic reportSummary

Email: info@cedmac.orgTel: 38 77 791, 3872070Fax: 3861397P.O. Box 635200200 NAIROBI, Kenya

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1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This is brief report outlines the interplay between marginalization in Kenya and the electoral process. It specifically looks at the 2007 general election in which CEDMAC as a consortium which champions the rights of the marginalized community participated as a member of the Kenya Election Domestic Observation Forum (KEDOF) family.

The repot summarizes the major challenges identified and recommendations proposed from the three thematic reports produced by CEDMAC, viz Pre Election Report, Election Day Report and the Post Election report

It is expected that this report will provide useful insights and possible guidelines to the policy makers so that they can address the various challenges which hinder effective participation of marginalized communities in the electoral process.

2.0 Consortium for the Empowerment and Development of Marginalized Communities - CEDMACConsortium for the Empowerment and Development of Marginalized Communities (CEDMAC) was formed in 1999 as platform of and for civil society organizations, networks and initiatives from marginalized communities, which are striving for social justice and eliminations of all forms of discrimination.

The major objective of CEDMAC is to provide an organized network and platform for organizations, networks and initiatives of the marginalized communities to pool their synergies, to provide leverage effect on policies and actors that have the potential to influence the quality of life for the people. CEDMAC is an organization which serves as a platform for championing the rights of marginalized communities. Specifically it strives to ensure that there is social justice and elimination of all forms of discrimination and prejudice against the marginalized communities in Kenya. The CEDMAC constituency includes Pastoralists, ethnic minorities, hunters and gatherers, forest dwellers, urban slum dwellers, riverine communities, people with disabilities and Muslims. CEDMAC is one of the 13 civil societies under the Kenya Elections Domestic Observation Forum (KEDOF)

3.0 MARGINALIZATION – A PERPSECTVE

Marginalization in broad terms refers to be relegated to an unimportant or powerless position within a society or group. It can also be defined as exclusion of an individual or communities from meaningful participation in society, in part because the individual or the community is unable to participate in the spheres of socio economic and political development of the society. Marginalization has the potential to result in severe material

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deprivation, and in its most extreme form can exterminate groups. In Kenya communities such as the pastoralists, the nomads, hunter and gatherers, urban slum dwellers, ethnic and racial minorities, religious minorities, individuals living with disabilities have all been facing one or another form of marginalization due to dominant discourse (s) within the structures of society. Material deprivation is the most common result of marginalization when looking at how unfairly material resources (such as food and shelter) are dispersed in society. Along with material deprivation, marginalized individuals and communities are also excluded from services, programs, and policies.

Many communities experience marginalization, CEDMAC is particularly concerned with addressing the marginalization of the pastoralists, nomads, hunter gatherers and religious minorities in Kenya. The marginalization of these communities is largely a product of colonization. This trend has been perpetuated by succeeding regimes hence further disenfranchising these communities. They have been isolated from the mainstream development agenda in its entirety. Marginalization brings to the fore front the issue of inequality. It is important to note that inequality is not only the income gap between the rich and poor. It entails differences in access to education, health, access and enjoyment of political rights and representation. This is exactly what the marginalized communities in Kenya experience

For a long time politics has dominated public policy. Since independence the patrimonial state (patrimony where property is inherited from one’s ancestors) has favored those who were close to power. It rewarded political loyalty with economic goods. In recent times, this skewed political structure has given rise to (grand) corruption. Fundamentally, graft entails the giving of rewards that are not earned, thus giving rise to undue disparities.

Patronage politics and corruption thus rewards more to those who work less and less to those who work more. This is a serious distortion of equal chances and fair play, and can explain a lot of inequalities in Kenya.

The policy process: In Kenya this may have contributed to inequality either by design or unintended consequence. For instance, Kenya’s post-independence planning blueprint, the session paper #10 of 1965 on African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya. While this paper was aimed at integrating the ideals of African socialism to policy, it may have been the origin of the dichotomy between “high potential” and “low potential” zones in Kenya. The paper noted that “to make the economy grow as fast as possible, development money should be invested where it will yield the largest increase in net output. This approach will clearly favor the development of areas having abundant natural resources, good land and rainfall, transport and power facilities, and people more receptive to, and active in, development.”

The geographical factor: For a long time Kenya has been a predominantly agricultural country. This meant that areas that were suitable for agriculture (for both domestic consumption and export) have tended to be well-off over

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time. One can make a casual link between Central Province—the least poor province in Kenya—and the fact that it produces three export crops (tea, coffee, horticulture) and has relatively good development indicators. Agro-ecological conditions of a region therefore seem to be a relevant factor in explaining regional disparities in Kenya, holding other factors constant.

4.0 The Electoral process in the marginalized areas

The fact that marginalized communities usually have very little exposure and understanding as far as their rights and obligations as citizens is concerned makes them susceptible to electoral malpractices. They also do not have easy access to information on current affairs like in other regions in the country hence are not able to engage effectively in the electoral process as they should.

Specific challenges experienced during the Electoral process1

1. Lack of knowledge of civic rights and responsibilities; This has been occasioned by inadequate voter education and civic education. For these communities the voter education was done late in the electoral calendar and in very few areas especially in the marginalized areas of Northern Kenya, Turkana, West Pokot Mandera, Garissa Wajir and Tana River. This hampered its impact as the community life is largely dictated by the need for survival and controlled by community calendar which is largely not flexible. Hence the community was not able to participate in these vital activities adequately. This phenomenon contributed in increasing the number of ignorant voters who were not capable of participating effectively in the electoral process and a significant number had no knowledge about their roles as voters. This therefore is one of the major factors which contributed to the high incidence of ‘assisted’ voters with some polling stations reporting over 100% assisted 2voters. This lack of knowledge also impacted negatively in voter turnout in these regions.

2. Lack of properly trained Party agents. The party agents in the region were also not properly trained and thus could not be able to undertake their watchdog role during the electoral process as required. This created room for electoral malpractices by some unscrupulous electoral officials. This largely explains why some presiding officers in these regions had the audacity to chase all party agents out of the counting /tallying hall and remain with the incumbent member3 of parliament while tallying the votes.

3. Lack of proper training and preparation of the electoral commission staff. This contributed largely in providing room for rigging and electoral malpractices. In a number of constituencies in Turkana,

1 These have been informed by documented evidence from CEDMAC’s Pre-Election Report.2 CEDMAC E-day Report3 Tallying at Garsen Town Hall-CEDMAC Post Election Report

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Kapenguria and Mandera West the electoral commission staff were being trained a day or two before the polling day, while in some areas very few polling clerks turned for the training4 but still went on to supervise and work as ECK staff during the polling day. Due to this poor training the electoral commission staff made some errors for example there were cases where the voters who had been in the queue were sent away when it reached 5.pm5yet this is contrary to the ECK laws. There were also cases where the presiding officers and their clerks, who after the end of the voting process, were transporting the ballot boxes while they were not sealed6 hence creating suspicion, tension and room for rigging.

4. Poverty and Leadership without progress; The community members in the region have been unable to see the link between choosing a good leader with progress of the region. This is because there has been very little improvement in the region ever since independence7. The region received large number and significant developmental8

promises which were pledged by the presidential candidates and the local leaders. In effect if the pledges are to be fulfilled, these regions will be transformed to be amongst the most developed regions in Kenya. These promises are in effect an admission by the political leadership of the neglect of the regions and the communities. The underdevelopment of the region and the community in general thus makes the election period a season for voters to get handouts and not an opportunity for getting good leadership. This has perpetuated bribery and other malpractices during election time. In most cases the community members usually sit outside the polling station waiting for the politician to come and pay them so that they can vote for him.

5. Poverty and lack basic amenities; Due to harsh terrain and lack of basic amenities like easy access to health centers, access to water and food for both humans and livestock, the community members do not view voting as a high priority. The community members spend a significant amount of their time in search for livelihood as such there is usually high voter apathy in the region. People would rather spend their time tending their livestock and searching for firewood and water rather than spend countless hours queuing to vote in a highly disorganized and often rowdy polling stations. The search for livelihood has also affected the community access to civic and voter education especially when such initiatives are conducted without taking into consideration the community calendar. This was the case with the timing of the voter education which was not able to reach as many people in the region as it should have. The poor road infrastructure and communication networks in these regions also limit the community’s participation in the electoral process. The polling stations are sometimes very far apart and since

4 ibid5 Ibid6 Turkana Kibish polling station -CEDMAC E-day Report7 Kenya Human Development Report 2001 IDS 8 CEDMAC Pre-Election report pgs 8-10.

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there are no regular means of transport it becomes difficult for the community members to participate effectively and most of the time they do not vote.

6. Intimidation by provincial administration and public officers. Since these are the people who represent the government on the ‘ground’, they usually act with impunity and take the law into their own hands hence heavily influencing the community voting patterns. This manifested itself with the rampant use of government vehicles and other facilities by the candidates(incumbents)9 .The presence of government vehicles in these regions is equated with intimidation and therefore if the incumbent campaigns using government facilities it tends to influence the voters to his side because they view voting as purely a government affair, something which one is required to obey and therefore the space for alternative leadership is usually very narrow as the incumbent usually possess an advantage over his rivals .

5.0 PROPOSED RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Ensure proper and early training for the electoral commission staff in these regionsTraining of electoral officers should be done well in advance. This is important as it will allow the electoral commission to identify suitable personnel on the ground to manage the election in the regions and will ensure that the elections are conducted in a free, transparent and a fair manner. It will also empower the electoral officials in the region so that they can not be intimidated by the incumbent during the electioneering period.

2. Enhance civic education and voter education in the region. This should be done in order to empower the voters and also the party agents so that they can participate in the electoral process in a more meaningful manner. This will also reduce the incidences of bribery and other electoral malpractices which have been witnessed before.

3. Introduce Mobile polling stations and set up polling stations

near watering holes and dams. This will encourage the community to vote as they will still be able to attend to their other daily chores and still participate in this important exercise. This will also increase the number of women who will have the opportunity to vote.

4. Allow for people to vote from different polling stations from where they registered. Due to the poor road infrastructure and the nature of nomadic lives of these communities, it is recommended that the electoral commission develop a system which will be flexible to allow voters to vote in stations other than where they were registered as voters. This strategy may assist the community members participate more effectively in the electoral process.

9 CEDMAC Pre-election report (Garissa, Tana River Wajir)

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Ends/

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