Analysis of the post 2007 general election conflict mediation process in Kenya

Abstract

In December 2007, Kenya held what by all accounts were historic presidential, parliamentary and local elections which pitted the then President Mwai Kibaki and his Party of National Unity (PNU) against Mr. Raila Odinga, the leader of the Orange Democratic Party (ODM), Mr. Kalonzo Musyoka, head of ODM-Kenya, and six other candidates. There was however, even before the elections were in progress, several indicators of conflict such as pervasive use of inflammatory campaign rhetoric. Within minutes of the Electoral Commission of Kenya’s declaration of President Kibaki's victory, tribe-based rioting and violence broke out across the country. The results announced showed both a rapid disintegration of Odinga’s previously large lead during the tallying of votes, and a 2.5% margin between the two leading candidates. As a result, suspicions of tampering were high, not least because the opposition had won 99 seats to PNU’s 43 at the parliamentary level.