Kenyan voters soundly rejected a proposed new Constitution in a landmark referendum, dealing a major blow to President Mwai Kibaki, who supported the draft, according to official results released on Tuesday.
With ballots from only 500 000 potential voters in about a dozen of 210 constituencies uncounted, the ”no” camp held an insurmountable lead of more than one million votes in Monday’s plebiscite, the national election board said.
Figures released by the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) showed that 58%, or 3 480 642, of voters cast ”no” ballots, while 42%, or 2 492 229, supported the draft.
Kibaki was due to give a nationally televised address later on Tuesday to discuss the defeat of the first major changes to Kenya’s charter since independence from Britain in 1963.
The rejection is a substantial blow to his fortunes, as he had invested heavy political capital leading the ”yes” campaign ahead of presidential elections due in 2007.
Foes of the draft document, led by opposition chief Uhuru Kenyatta and Kibaki’s influential Roads Minister Raila Odinga, had urged its rejection as it retains sweeping presidential powers.
They accuse Kibaki, who was elected in 2002 on a reform platform, of reneging on promises to address popular demands to devolve significant executive powers to a new prime-ministerial position.
The draft creates such a post but endows it with mainly ceremonial duties, including presiding over Parliament.
Some Christian church leaders were also opposed to the document because it gives legal status to Muslim courts and carries provisions that they believed could legalise on-demand abortions and gay marriage.
Analysts said the results showed a voting trend among tribal lines, with Kibaki’s Kikuyu community largely supporting the draft, while Odinga’s Luo tribe overwhelmingly opposed it. The two tribes are Kenya’s largest.
Monday’s vote was held after a bruising campaign marred by violence in which at least eight people were killed and rallies were routinely disrupted.
Polling day, however, was largely calm as long lines of voters queued to cast ballots, although at least two people were injured in brief, isolated clashes in two Nairobi slums, election officials said. — Sapa-AFP