Kenyans approve new constitution in referendum vote

Kenyans approved a new constitution in a "landslide victory" in yesterday's referendum, Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi said, citing initial results from the Interim Independent Electoral Commission. Stocks rallied.

"Saying that we have won is an understatement," Murungi, a leading official in the "Yes" campaign, told reporters today in the capital, Nairobi. "Kenya has been completely reborn."

The constitution was accepted by more than 5.95 million voters, or 67.3 percent of the more than 8 million who cast votes, Independent Electoral Commission Chairman Ahmed Issack said in Nairobi. The tally is for 207 of 210 constituencies in the East African nation that has 12.7 million registered voters.

The charter aims to spread political power among dozens of ethnic groups and end quarrels over land distribution. Those issues were at the heart of violence that broke out in 2008 following a disputed presidential election, leaving as many as 1,500 people dead and driving 300,000 from their homes. It will replace a constitution dating to Kenya's independence from Britain in 1963.

The vote was "transparent" Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki said at a ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya's capital today, according to a live broadcast on Citizen TV. "The historic journey that we began over 20 years ago is now coming to a happy end. The grand coalition government has been able to unite the Kenyan people to reach where we are today."

Both Kibaki and his partner in a power-sharing government, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, supported the new charter.

'Matured'

"Change has finally come to our land," Odinga said in an e-mailed statement. "It has come because we refused to give up. It has come because finally, we agreed to work together."

U.S. President Barack Obama congratulated Kenyans for holding a "peaceful, transparent and credible" vote.

"This was a significant step forward for Kenya’s democracy," Obama said in a statement, and will lead to greater stability and prosperity for the country.

The vote will be "positive" for the economy, Kenyan Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta said today.

The Nairobi Stock Exchange All Share Index rose to its highest level in two years, adding 1.5 percent to close at 81.29 today. Kenya's shilling strengthened to 79.60 against the dollar as of 3:16 p.m. in Nairobi, from 79.95 late yesterday.

"This new constitution will create a far better business environment and we are already seeing immediate improvements in investor confidence," with the stock market rallying, Fred Moturi, a fixed-income dealer with Sterling Investment Bank, said by phone.

Opposition Accepts

Kenya's economic growth rate dropped to 1.7 percent in 2008 from 7.1 percent a year earlier as a result of the post-election violence. Revenue from the tourism industry, Kenya's third- biggest source of foreign currency after horticulture and tea, and which accounts for about 13 percent of gross domestic product, was slashed by over a third in the same year.

The yes vote shows that the country has "matured," and removes the "lingering effect" of the post-election violence of 2008, Kenyatta told reporters.

"We believe the majority have had their way, while we have had our say," said Higher Education Minister William Ruto, a leading official in the "No" campaign. Ruto called for immediate talks on amendments to the new charter.

Electoral officials have stopped tabulating provisional results and are now compiling the official figures, said electoral commission Chairman Ahmed Issack Hassan. Results from polling stations are being delivered by air and land for the final tally.

Donor Aid

"This is a historic event for the country, and a landmark in the reform agenda," European Union foreign-policy chief Catherine Ashton said in an e-mailed statement following the vote. It "demonstrates the commitment of the government to fundamental legal and political change."

The constitution would devolve responsibility for basic health services, agriculture, county roads and water to Kenya's 47 counties, and set up independent bodies to audit public finances and review land rights. Lawmakers would have to vote to approve the president's choice of Cabinet ministers, who must come from outside the elected parliament, and judges.

Kenya will need a "couple of billion of shillings" in financial aid and technical support from foreign donors to enact "massive amounts of legislation" following yesterday's vote, Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula said in an interview. The legal changes need to come into effect by the next general election in 2012, he said.

Saddened

Christian religious groups opposed a proposal in the draft constitution that would permit women whose lives are endangered to end a pregnancy, a right already enshrined in the penal code, and another clause that would recognize Islamic laws on inheritance, marriage and divorce.

"We are saddened by the fact that the pre-referendum process was marked by malpractices and irregularities which continued right into balloting and tallying phases," 16 Christian church leaders said in a statement handed to reporters. "This calls into question the validity of the process and its outcome."

The 2008 violence was sparked by accusations of vote- rigging in the presidential election of December 2007. The fighting stopped after Kibaki, an ethnic Kikuyu, signed a power- sharing accord with opposition leader Odinga, a Luo. Adopting a new constitution is a key part of the peace agreement.

(Published by Bloomberg – August 5, 2010)