Kenya’s new constitution was put to the test in the just ended March 4 general election.
The Supreme Court of Kenya was tested too when petitions were filed, challenging the results declared by the country’s electoral body.
This was historic. The court proceedings were closely watched both within and outside Kenya.
There are many lessons to be drawn from the Kenyan experience seen from someone watching from Tanzania. Here are some:
Lesson One – The timelines set in the Constitution within which to file a petition and for respondents to file a response and for the Supreme Court to deliver a full judgment appear to be too short.
The timelines seem to have been designed for a single petition and not several as was the case. We have to provide for more reasonable time in our new constitution.
Lesson Two – Discovery requests by a petitioner prior to filing. Should a petitioner be able to demand whatever information from the electoral body prior to filing a petition?
Does the respondent have the opportunity to know what the case is and be in a position to assess whether the information requested was relevant to the petitioner’s case and without a court order? Our Constitution should address this issue.
Lesson Three – The Supreme Court did well to make the proceedings public. This allowed the public within and outside Kenya to follow the proceedings and to make own judgment.
There is no way a court’s decision on a closely fought election can determine the issues to the satisfaction of all involved.
But the court’s decision was final. The defeated party respected the decision of the court although it was disappointed by it. Thus, instead of the streets determining the dispute, it is the court that determined it.
Leaders of the defeated candidates made statements urging their followers to be calm. This is crucial for maintaining peace. In this, Kenya is providing leadership to the rest of the region.
Lesson Four – Preparation for a peaceful election in the run-up to the general election. I was in Nairobi last December and in February this year and saw a number of events, prayer gatherings, walks and others that were organised by Kenyans for a peaceful general election.
Lesson? We should start now for a peaceful 2015 General Election in Tanzania. We cannot afford violence.
Lesson Five – The media behaved responsibly. Some people in Tanzania are of the view that the media contributed significantly to the violence of the 2007 as it contributed to peaceful 2013 general elections.
The media in Tanzania has to commit to responsible reporting in the run-up to the next election.
Lesson Six – A new constitution created new institutions and new structures of governance, notably the Independent Election and Boundaries Commission whose chairman, other commissioners and senior management were competitively appointed and underwent parliamentary scrutiny.
We have to have competitively appointed commissioners to our electoral body before the next election.
Lesson Seven – The constitution established an independent supreme court, whose justices were competitively appointed and underwent parliamentary scrutiny.
The existing Constitution of Tanzania has no provision for a constitutional court, save for the Special Constitutional Court established to conciliate over matters referred to it concerning the interpretation of the Constitution or its application in dispute between the Government of the United Republic and the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar.
We need a constitution court either independent structurally or as part of the Judiciary like the Kenyan Supreme Court.
Lesson Eight – Someone supported the petitioners and circulated the petitions only as complete evidence that votes were stolen from the petitioner substantially as to affect the outcome of the election.
I was amazed by the scope within which the petition was circulated in Tanzania through the Internet, by email and SMS. So successful was the dissemination that people believed what the petitions stated although they had not seen the respondents’ case.
It did not matter what the defense was or what the decision of the Supreme Court on the evidence presented to it would be. Those who watched the proceedings did not change their view of the petition. That is not a good sign for us as 2015 nears.
Lesson Nine – The ability to circulate information to people effectively is good. However, there has to be a commitment to responsible communication because it can also be used to erode democracy and attack basic rights of those the information targets against and incite violence.
Lesson Ten – Must the defeated presidential candidates and the outgoing president attend the swearing of a new president?
http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/editorial-analysis/47-columnists/30395-ten-key-lessons-for-tanzania-from-kenyas-elections
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