PRESIDENT HAND PICKS ELECTORAL COMMISSIONERS;

UNCLAS NAIROBI 000220

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL KE
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT HAND PICKS ELECTORAL COMMISSIONERS;
OPPOSITION CRIES FOUL

REF: 06 NAIROBI 5207

This message is sensitive but unclassified, please handle
accordingly.


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: In what opposition leaders are calling a
"blow to multi-party democracy," President Kibaki on January
11 appointed nine Commissioners to the Electoral Commission
of Kenya, without consulting opposition parties. Although
completely within Kenyan law, the move sets a bad precedent
for Kibaki's use of his presidential authority. Kenyans, who
voted in the government as a coalition based on consultation
and consensus, are understandably disappointed. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) Following months of speculation and scrutiny into
how President Kibaki would handle the filling of vacancies on
the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) ahead of the general
elections later this year, Kibaki on January 11 named nine
new Commissioners. As opposition politicians and the ECK's
Chairman feared, the President did so without consulting
opposition leaders. Although, as the Law Society of Kenya
(LSK) quickly pointed out, the President has the
constitutional authority to make appointments solely at his
discretion, tradition has held otherwise. The result of a
"gentleman's agreement" in 1997, nominations have been made,
until now, by all parties in Parliament. With a large number
of seats previously held by opposition-nominated
commissioners empty (9 out of 22) just months before the next
election later this year, the matter of new Commissioners had
taken on high political significance. Opposition party
members feared the President would "stock" the ECK with
Commissioners favorable to him to smooth the way for his
re-election.

PATRONAGE RULES
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3. (SBU) The president's unilateral action has infuriated
opposition and civil society leaders who are vowing to take
action. MP and presidential hopeful Kalonzo Musyoka decried
the nominations, characterizing the President's move as a
setback for Kenya's democratic development. An officer of
the Institute for Education in Democracy (IED),a Kenyan NGO
specializing in voter education, highlighted his concerns to
poloff that the appointments would seriously undermine voter
confidence in the electoral system in Kenya. The cronyism
behind the new appointments would lead voters to question the
integrity of the coming election. However, he continued, the
move could backfire in that it has given the opposition an
issue to take to voters against the government.


4. (SBU) A small bright spot, the new commissioners
represent a wide geographic spectrum, include 3 women, are
relatively younger and better educated than past
commissioners, and many are well-respected lawyers. However,
each one has a link to someone in Kibaki's inner circle and
three of them are very clearly Kibaki's men. Muturi Kigano,
currently on the board of the Kenya Ports Authority, has in
the past served as Kibaki's lawyer. Luciano Riunga Raiji,
also from the Mt. Kenya area, is the younger brother of Aaron
Ringera, Director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission
(KACC). Samuel Arap Ng'eny, a longtime Kibaki supporter and
Kalenjin, was formerly Deputy Speaker of the National
Assembly. With the addition of the new Commissioners, all
but three of the 22 commissioners are clearly pro-government.

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER...
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5. (SBU) Less than two weeks ago in his New Year's Day
address President Kibaki pledged to "forge a stronger sense
of national unity," and build consensus on all outstanding
matters of national importance." The January 11 appointments
send entirely the opposite message, critics argue. The IED
raised concerns that the Kibaki's motivation was purely
political. Also ironic is that Kibaki himself had benefited
from Moi's respect for the 1997 "agreement," having been
consulted on previous nominations as an opposition member.

COMMENT
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6. (SBU) The ECK appointments are a poorly calculated first
step of the election year. Kenyans do not need to recall
that far back to be reminded of a time when heavy-handed
authoritarianism (Moi) was the order of the day. Civil
liberties in Kenya have grown a great deal since then; the
President's actions yesterday will surely concern voters
about what to expect from a second Kibaki administration
should he be re-elected. END COMMENT.
RANNEBERGER