Kenya will hold its first-ever nationwide referendum on November 21 when voters cast ballots on a new Constitution that has already deeply split the East African nation, officials said on Monday.
”The referendum will be held on 21 November 2005 from 7am to 5pm (4am to 2pm GMT),” the chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), Samuel Kivuitu, told reporters in Nairobi.
On that date, 11,8-million registered voters will be asked to accept or reject a draft Constitution containing the most sweeping changes to Kenya’s founding document since it was drawn up before independence from Britain in 1963.
The text has drawn criticism from the opposition, which includes elements of President Mwai Kibaki’s coalition government, as well as from church leaders, for a range of reasons.
About 14 500 polling stations will be opened around Kenya for the exercise that officials said would cost the cash-strapped nation nearly $40-million on top at least $50-million spent on preparing the draft.
”Are you for or against the ratification of the proposed new Constitution?” the ballots will ask, with voters selecting the symbol of a banana for ”yes” and an orange for ”no,” the election board said.
Kivuitu reminded Kenyans that the draft, which took nearly a decade to prepare, will be ”ratified by a simple majority of the votes cast,” but once it takes effect, it can only be amended by a two-thirds majority in the 222-member national assembly.
The political opposition, led by the son of Kenya’s revered founding president Jomo Kenyatta, is calling for a ”no” vote as the draft retains nearly absolute presidential powers.
Influential leaders in Kenya’s Christian church are opposed to the draft as they argue it gives rights to religious courts and contains provisions they say could legalise on-demand abortion and gay marriages.
Protests against the Constitution sparked street violence in the capital in July in which at least one person was killed and there are fears the campaign for the referendum may reignite tensions.
Kivuitu, who announced an official campaign period of October 21 to November 19, appealed for calm ahead of the vote, urging Kenyans to respect the opinions of their compatriots.
”We should at all times remember that Kenya is bigger than each one of us. It is our country… we should never vote with our tribe or kin in mind,” he said.
”ECK would like to appeal to Kenyans to continue to respect each other even at times like this,” Kivuitu said. ”We are one nation.”
”We have survived many national crises, which could have torn us apart, but we resisted,” Kivuitu said. ”Let that resilience remain our hallmark. Let us leave a legacy which will be the pride to our descendants.”
The board also said it would carry out an intensive civic education programme across the country ahead of the referendum and warned voters against being swayed by politicians.
Last week, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Kiraitu Murungi said the government will deploy resources ”that will shake all corners of the country,” to campaign for a ”yes” vote against its opponents.
Kivuitu urged government leaders ”to desist from making sweet promises to voters on condition that they vote one way or threatening reprisals against voters if they do not vote in a particular way”.
”This amounts to misuse of state power and would lead to state resources being employed illegally in pursuit of such a stance. Please let us allow the people to make their choices freely.” – Sapa