The impact of the Kenyan elections

The Kenyan elections and the ensuing violence dominated news headlines across the world at the start of 2008. On the cusp of the New Year, election results were announced by the Electoral Commission, which were clearly manipulated in various constituencies. The scale of the rigging leaves some major questions about the multitude of people involved in the process.

The shock of the events that flowed from the results announcement are being felt across the continent. Whilst the negotiations are underway under Kofi Annan's supervision, election management bodies must surely be asking themselves: "How can we prevent the same scenario happening here?" A seemingly credible electoral commission that was respected by its peers suddenly experiences a complete meltdown. It would be surprising to see the Commission survive the negotiation process when all talks have been concluded. The results announcement was not handled well, and nothing the Commission did after the announcement seemed to regain any inkling of credibility in the outsider's eye.

The angles being picked up by the media in various countries seems to also ask the question of what the impact of the Kenyan elections would be in a local setting. A CAFRAD-conference to be held in Morocco at the end of March tries this question of "How to Master the Electoral Process and Prevent Fraud, Disputes and Violence in African Countries". It is clear that the ripple effects of the Kenyan elections will be felt for a long time in the region and on the continent.