Kenyans in Nairobi celebrate as they wait for the official announcement of the results of the referendum
Kenya was swept by a wave of optimism
yesterday unseen since the victory celebrations for Barack Obama's
presidential win. That triumph was down to a Kenyan descendant, but this
win was entirely homegrown as the final results showed an overwhelming
majority of the country had backed a new constitution.
Supporters of the draft document which aims to
devolve power from the presidency, address land issues and overhaul the
corrupt judiciary hailed the vote as "the birth of the second republic".
"Just
taking the temperature and the pulse of the people this morning,
everyone feels as optimistic as the day President Obama was voted in,"
said Kenyan financial analyst, Aly Khan Sutchu. "It's a similar scenario
with smiles on everyone's faces." The optimism was reflected in the
markets where the Kenyan shilling made gains against sterling and the US
dollar, and the Nairobi stock exchange is expected to continue its
recent rally.
The regional powerhouse and the biggest diversified
economy in sub-Saharan Africa behind South Africa, Kenya's stability
matters. The post-election violence two years ago had immediate
consequences for its economically fragile neighbours in east Africa and
yesterday's redrawing of its politics is expected to boost economic
prospects in the region.
"Confidence was a key
requirement for economic turnaround, and the peaceful passage of the
vote should do a lot to underscore that," said Razia Khan, Africa
economist at Standard Chartered Bank.
More
importantly for a country still haunted by memories of the violent
fallout from a flawed election in 2007, the referendum passed without
major incident. As the scale of defeat became apparent with two-thirds
of voters backing the new constitution, the No camp conceded defeat – a
rarity in Kenya's fractious politics. "(The) majority had their way, we
had our say," said William Ruto, the leader of the No campaign, and the
country's higher education minister.
However,
he quickly returned to the offensive trying to argue that more Kenyans
had abstained or voted No than had endorsed the draft.
Early
results indicated that more than 72 per cent of registered voters had
gone to the polls which would make it the strongest turnout for a
national vote in Kenya's history.
For millions
of Kenyans accustomed to elections as periodic tribal censuses it was
also a taste of more substantial politics where issues and ideologies
were at stake. "This was a special vote because finally we weren't
voting for politicians, we were voting for issues and institutions and
the foundations of the problems we keep facing," said Kepha Ngito, a
rights campaigner at the Catholic charity Cafod. Mr Ngito, who works in
Nairobi's largest slum, Kibera, said people now knew their rights and
would demand them.
"The true legacy of the
post-election violence is that the politicians would not have joined
together to push through such a big piece of reform without it. The
people have felt justice at last but we had to go through it the hard
way."
Civil society activists called for the
public to keep up the pressure on politicians as the draft is
implemented. "My main fear is that if we make this precious moment in
Kenya's history about politicians," said Ngunjiri Wambugu, a rights
campaigner, "we risk losing all these ordinary Kenyans, who stepped out
of their comfort zones, at a most crucial part of the process:
implementation of the new constitution."
While
some parts of the new settlement, like the bill of rights, come into
effect immediately others concerning the political system, the courts
and land tenure will take time to implement. The draft's opponents – who
included many church leaders upset at clauses on abortion and Islamic
courts – were already signalling their intention to demand amendments.
The
toughest battle is likely to come over land rights. The draft calls for
drastic changes to Kenya's legal framework that opponents have warned
will lead to a "Pandora's box" of ancestral territory claims.