August 8th, 2017, Kenyan elections

Overview
The 2017 General elections were scheduled to be held in Kenya on 8 August 2017.[1] Voters will elect the President and his deputy, members of Parliament (Senate and National Assembly) and devolved government members (county governors and ward representatives).

Background
The Kenyan Constitution requires there to be a general election on the second Tuesday in August in every fifth year.[2] There have been public discussions to move the date from August to December with proponents pointing to fiscal timeline (1 July–30 June) clashing with an August date because most ministries that support critical election processes will not have been fully funded and that a possible presidential runoff vote may interfere with the national examinations calendar of October and December.[3] Opponents of the election date change have argued for protecting the constitutional provision and that any change would be mired by legal challenges and may drag on to the next elections and still require a referendum to decide, putting the country's stability at risk.[3]

On August 7, 2017, one day before the election, Barack Obama, who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017, and whose father was a Kenyan national, called for calm and acceptance of the election results.[4] The intervention was noted by the media as unprecedented.[4]


 * 1) Government Unitary presidential constitutional republic
 * 2) President -
 * 3) Deputy President -
 * 4) Speaker of the Senate Ekwee Ethuro
 * 5) Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi
 * 6) Attorney General Githu Muigai
 * 7) Legislature Parliament
 * 8) Senate
 * 9) National Assembly
 * 10) Independence from the United Kingdom 12 December 1963
 * 11) Republic declared 12 December 1964

Electoral system
The President of Kenya is elected using a modified version of the two-round system; in order to win in the first round, a candidate is required to receive over 50% of the vote and 25% of the vote in at least 24 counties.[5][6]

The 337 members of the National Assembly are elected by two methods; 290 are elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting. The remaining 47 are reserved for women, and are elected from single-member constituencies based on the 47 counties, also using the first-past-the-post system.[7] The 67 members of the Senate are elected by four methods; 47 are elected in single-member constituencies based on the counties by first-past-the-post voting. Parties are then assigned a share of 16 seats for women, two for youth and two for disabled people based on their seat share.[8]

Tribalism
Most voter prefer a candidate of the same tribes since they can trust them more.


 * 1) 22% Kikuyu
 * 2) 14% Luhya
 * 3) 13% Luo
 * 4) 12% Kalenjin
 * 5) 11% Kamba
 * 6) 6% Kisii
 * 7) 6% Meru
 * 8) 15% other African
 * 9) 1% non-African (mostly White, Arab and mixed-bloods)

The African Great Lakes region, which Kenya is a part of, has been inhabited by humans since the Lower Paleolithic period. By the first millennium AD, the Bantu expansion had reached the area from West-Central Africa. The borders of the modern state consequently comprise the crossroads of the Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan and Afroasiatic areas of the continent, representing most major ethnolinguistic groups found in Africa. Bantu and Nilotic populations together constitute around 97% of the nation's residents.

European and Arab presence in coastal Mombasa dates to the Early Modern period; European exploration of the interior began in the 19th century. The British Empire established the East Africa Protectorate in 1895, which starting in 1920 gave way to the Kenya Colony. Kenya obtained independence in December 1963. Following a referendum in August 2010 and adoption of a new constitution, Kenya is now divided into 47 semi-autonomous counties, governed by elected governors.

Party primaries
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission set the duration for political parties to conduct their primaries in April 2017 following the review of Kenya's Election Laws. Parties would have 14 days between 20 April and 2 May to conduct their primaries and submit their candidates to the electoral commission.[9]

Party campaigns


Party rallies occurred across the nation.
 * NASA (the Kenyan party not the American organisation) final rally In Uhuru Park, Nairobi, 8/5/17.
 * Jubilee Rally, Kitui Town, 8/3/17.

Policing
The government denied a pre-election raid on opposition offices and on on Raila Odinga’s headquarters are also rebuffed by both the locals and Kenya's officials on August 4th.

Due to the growing fear of the violence of the 2013 election re-occurring in 2017, about 180,000 members of the police and security forces have been deployed across Kenya on August 7th.

Hacked computers


A Nasa IT expert explained how hackers allegedly hacked the IEBC server and manipulated the algorithm to ensure Uhuru Kenyatta maintained a constant lead against Raila Odinga, but Chiloba said IEBC systems were not hacked.

Raila Odinga suggested that hackers had manipulated voting results in the presidential election in the evening of August 9th.

Polling
A May 11 saw a poll show that 70%of the population worry about post election violence.

William Ruto home siege
On 29 July 2017, the deputy president William Ruto's house was attacked by a local man armed with a machete.[10] During the siege, the deputy president and his family were not present. The assailant first injured the guard on duty, held him hostage and then killed him. The siege lasted 18 hours after the Kenyan Police special forces shot the attacker dead. The motives of the attacker were unknown and members of the public were unaware how a man armed with a machete held the elite police forces for 18 hours.[11][12]

Christopher Msando's murder
On 27 July 2017, two dead bodies were found on the outskirts of Nairobi. One of the deceased, Christopher (AKA: Chris) Msando, was the head of information, communication, and technology at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission of Kenya. [13] Msando played a major role in developing the new voting system for the election, and the cause of his death is still unknown.[14] Msando's body showed clear marks of torture before he was murdered some time in the 3 days he was missing. His boddy was found on July 31. Along side his body was a body of a 21 year old woman, Maryanne Ngumbu.[15] The FBI and Scotland yard offered to help in the investigation.[16]

Nairobi
Police killed a rioter in a opposition stronghold across Nairobi and 3 unidentified people had reportedly died on the evening of August 9th during a undisclosed Nairobi suburb riot.

Journalists said several machete-wielding attackers has been shot after an assault on a Kenya polling station on the night of August 9th. It is still not clear if anyone was killed or just wounded.

Mombasa
None reported.

Elsewhere
A Jubilee party building was stormed in Tana River county, killing a man who was working for the party and injuring another. Police then shot dead 2 attackers.

Police fired tear gas to disperse 100 unidentified protesters in Kisumu.

Disinformation
Fake CNN and BBC reports were issued in Kenya on August 1, 2017.

Economics
The Kenyan Shilling rallies and stabilise against the US $ after a brief fall.

The capital, Nairobi, is a regional commercial hub. The economy of Kenya is the largest by GDP in East and Central Africa. Agriculture is a major employer; the country traditionally exports tea and coffee and has more recently begun to export fresh flowers to Europe. The service industry is also a major economic driver. Additionally, Kenya is a member of the East African Community trading bloc. Trade play a major role in the economy.

Alleged fraud
Opposition Raila Odinga leader suggested that hackers had manipulated voting results in the presidential election in the evening of August 9th.

Also see

 * 1) Kenya
 * 2) 1950 United Kingdom general election

General

 * 1) https://article.wn.com/view/2017/08/10/The_Latest_Attackers_gunned_down_at_Kenya_polling_center_4/
 * 2) https://article.wn.com/view/2017/08/09/The_Latest_Rights_group_urges_Kenyas_police_against_force_az/
 * 3) https://article.wn.com/view/2017/08/09/The_Latest_International_vote_observers_urge_Kenyan_calm_9e/
 * 4) https://article.wn.com/view/2017/08/09/The_Latest_Kenya_vote_commission_defends_system_as_secure_z/
 * 5) https://article.wn.com/view/2017/08/09/The_Latest_Kerry_says_Kenya_vote_system_appears_strong_f/
 * 6) https://article.wn.com/view/2017/08/09/Clashes_in_Kenya_after_opposition_leader_claims_election_fra/
 * 7) http://news.sky.com/story/kenya-election-challenger-raila-odinga-rejects-fake-results-10980536
 * 8) http://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/world/violence-in-kenya-over-election-hacking-claims/ar-AApNiAk
 * 9) https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/kenya-votes-in-bitter-presidential-race-with-economy-in-spotlight-but-tribal-rifts-in-the-wings/2017/08/08/b1b1bef4-789b-11e7-8c17-533c52b2f014_story.html
 * 10) http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/may/11/kenya-elections-renew-violence-fears/
 * 11) http://www.msn.com/g00/en-us/news/technology/kenyas-president-holds-rally-ahead-of-elections/vp-AApqZNP?i10c.referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2F
 * 12) https://www.hrw.org/blog-feed/kenya-elections-2017
 * 13) http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/31/africa/kenya-election-fake-news/index.html
 * 14) http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/08/kenyan-elections-ethnicity-factor-170806081143385.html
 * 15) http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/07/kenya-presidential-election-august-8-matters-170731053556542.html
 * 16) http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2017/07/kenyan-elections-work-170724140324953.html
 * 17) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/08/kenyans-queue-for-hours-to-vote-amid-fears-of-post-election-violence
 * 18) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenyan_general_election,_2017
 * 19) https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/as-kenya-elections-draw-near-country-reveals-an-electorate-divided-by-tribe/2017/08/05/8c47a200-789b-11e7-8c17-533c52b2f014_story.html?utm_term=.b63e718ece7c
 * 20) http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-kenya-election-fears-20170807-story.html
 * 21) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/31/kenyan-election-official-christopher-msando-dead-before-national-vote
 * 22) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/08/are-you-voting-in-kenyas-presidential-election
 * 23) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/07/kenya-braced-for-violence-as-voters-head-for-the-polls
 * 24) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya_(Commonwealth_realm)
 * 25) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya_Colony
 * 26) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Kenya
 * 27) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Africa_Protectorate
 * 28) https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/21367-8-unique-features-kenyas-2017-elections
 * 29) https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/elections2017/
 * 30) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenyan_general_election,_2017
 * 31) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya
 * 32) http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/08/01/msando-murder-hire-foreign-it-experts-accept-fbi-scotland-yard-help_c1608188
 * 33) http://www.nation.co.ke/news/politics/IEBC-announces-2017-election-date/-/1064/2991496/-/ecxyajz/-/index.html
 * 34) http://www.klrc.go.ke/index.php/constitution-of-kenya/123-chapter-eight-the-legislature/part-2-composition-and-membership-of-parliament/269-101-election-of-members-of-parliament
 * 35) http://www.nation.co.ke/news/politics/MPs-election-date-August-to-December/-/1064/2821510/-/10oghxhz/-/index.html
 * 36) https://web.archive.org/web/20121216232349/http://www.kenyadiasporavote.com/presidential-candidates/
 * 37) http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2167_B.htm
 * 38) http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/02/10/party-primaries-slotted-for-april-as-iebc-reviews-timelines-ahead-of_c1504572
 * 39) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-40764446
 * 40) https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001249790/more-questions-as-18-hour-siege-at-ruto-s-residence-end
 * 41) https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/kenyan-media-unknown-gunmen-attack-kenyan-vps-home/2017/07/29/4cd29d5e-747d-11e7-8c17-533c52b2f014_story.html?utm_term=.15a9e2237320
 * 42) https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-department-reverses-position-to-allow-ohio-to-purge-inactive-voters-from-rolls/2017/08/08/e93c5116-7c35-11e7-9d08-b79f191668ed_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_ohio-1035a%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.20fc4cd9ea8f
 * 43) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/31/kenyan-election-official-christopher-msando-dead-before-national-vote
 * 44) https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2017/08/woman-found-alongside-murdered-iebcs-msando-identified/
 * 45) http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kenya-election-babies-idUSKBN1AO1J1?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29&utm_content=Yahoo+Search+Results

Party manifestos

 * 1) https://jubileepamoja.co.ke/
 * 2) http://www.odm.co.ke/