Nairobi, Kenya
Election rerun in Kenya raises fears about violence and economic troubles
“It is going to be a high-octane political campaign season,” said political analyst Barrack Muluka, who predicted that Kenyatta would focus on how four judges had robbed millions of their vote while Odinga — who has lost four elections — would focus on a system rigged against him.
“It is going to be a bare-knuckle political fistfight, where the grandiose ideas we had previously are going to be on the back burner, and it’s going to be purely name-calling,” Muluka said. “The country is likely to be more polarized along ethnic lines.”
Like most of Kenya’s presidents, Kenyatta is from the Kikuyu tribe, the country’s largest, while Odinga is from the Luo, who have felt marginalized since independence in 1963. Voting — and the subsequent violence — often occurs along ethnic lines.
Kenyatta and his Jubilee Party have also positioned themselves as the pro-business force committed to improving the economy, while Odinga’s message resonates more with the economically marginalized, such as the Luo, and those fed up with the country’s endemic corruption.
While most analysts expect Kenyatta to win the new election, an Odinga victory is possible with his supporters energized by the court ruling. An opposition triumph would mean major disruption in the government, as many of the Kikuyu holding senior posts in the administration would probably be replaced.
“This ethnic switch-over would cause severe paralysis in the state bureaucracy, including delays to licensing, demands for fresh kickbacks, and the risk of contract alteration,” warned Robert Besseling, head of Exx Africa, a political risk advisory firm, in a recent report.
READ MORE Source: The Washington Post newspaper :
Election rerun in Kenya raises fears about violence and economic troubles