This is report seeks to give an analysis of what has been observed by four organizations working towards ensuring that 2007 elections are conducted in a free and fair manner. These organisations have been funded by HIVOS and are working under the coordination of Constitution & Reform Education Consortium (CRECO).
The report outlines issues that were monitored from the month of December 2007 and it was carried out in 48 constituencies by our respective constituency observes. The issues under consideration include:
- Political party campaigns
- Violence that is till being experienced during campaigns especially gender based violence.
- Role of media during the electioneering period
- Hate speech and misuse of state resources
- The issues arising out of government institutions i.e. The ECK conduct, the Judiciary and the police and security provision.
The report also makes suggestions of what needs to be done by different actors among them Citizens of Kenya, ECK, and State institutions like the Police, the Judiciary and Kenya Anti – Corruption Commission (KACC) to ensure that current and future elections in this country are conducted in a democratic and free and fair manner.
It calls for urgent actions that need to be put in place – The ECK to effectively enforce the electoral code of conduct not only on errant aspirants but also on parties, the Judiciary to expeditiously act on the pending cases in court related to election violence, petitions etc and the police to act very fast in apprehending those people who are perpetrating acts of violence. It also calls on Kenyans to ensure they desist from violence and report cases of violence to the relevant actors including police and other relevant authorities.
