General elections in Kenya: Lowest turnout since 2002
Election officers and agents wait near ballot boxes containing electoral materials, in Nairobi, on August 10, 2022, the day after the presidential election.
REUTERS - MONICAH MWANGI
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
The compilation of results is still ongoing in Kenya.
The electoral commission has seven days to announce them, i.e. until August 16.
In the meantime, she confirmed this Wednesday, August 10 the low participation: 64.6%.
A very low figure compared to previous polls.
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With our correspondent in Nairobi,
Florence Morice
The first participation figure announced Tuesday at midday, 64.6%, already foreshadowed a weak mobilization.
To the point that the electoral commission had deemed it useful to “
urge
” in a press release the Kenyans who remained at home to
go and vote
.
But the trend was confirmed.
The figure is not completely definitive since it does not take into account the voters who had to identify themselves from the manual register, following malfunctions of some biometric tablets.
But this did not concern more than 200 polling stations out of more than 46,000 according to the Commission.
Not enough to upset this trend.
It is therefore the lowest turnout in Kenya since 2002, well below the 80% turnout in the canceled 2017 election.
Added to this is the fact that only 40% of young people aged 18-35 were registered on the electoral lists, a figure that is falling there too.
All this testifies to a great disaffection vis-à-vis the vote, in a country which likes to present itself as the engine of democracy in the region.
Observers cite multiple explanations: economic crisis and disillusionment due to broken promises, little renewal among candidates and fatigue in the face of the repeated reversals of alliances that punctuate Kenyan political life.
In addition, four Kenyan and international NGOs, including Amnesty International, are alarmed on Wednesday to see a quantity of “ false or misleading information
” circulating on social networks
on the electoral process and the results of the elections.
They accuse the candidates of the two main coalitions in the running and their supporters of seeking "
intentionally to misinform the electorate and the public
".
Elsewhere, Elog, the Kenyan civil society election observation mission, calls on Kenyans to wait "
peacefully
" for the announcement of the official results by the electoral commission and to "
refrain from any action that could incite violence
”.
In Kisumu, a handshake that changed the face of the city
In this city loyal to candidate Raila Odinga, residents are anxiously awaiting their new head of state, their eyes glued to the forecast results given by the media.
The region has been the stronghold of the opposition for several decades, its population often feeling neglected by Nairobi.
But, in recent years, infrastructure projects have multiplied in the city, explains our special correspondent on the spot,
Albane Thirouard
.
A new stadium, port renovation, of the Kisumu–Nakuru railway line, with a modern station.
In five years, the city has seen many changes.
In its streets, many attribute them to the rapprochement between outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta and the historical opponent, Raila Odinga.
Since their “handshake”, famous handshake, in 2018, which aimed to put an end to post-election tensions, Sylas Chege and Elvis Otieno have seen their city evolve: “
The markets of Jubilee and Kibuye have been renovated.
They are now equipped with shelters.
The streets have also been improved, there are sidewalks and streetlights all along.
And it's all thanks to the handshake
", indicates the first, when the second goes further: "
Before, the city was left out, because we were in the opposition, so we received less support from the government.
With the handshake, we saw new development projects… the roads, the port… and others coming.
I can see Kisumu becoming an economic hub.
»
Peter Anyang' Nyong'o is the governor of the city.
He admits it: the rapprochement between the two men has led to new projects.
“
I'm not saying that we didn't receive anything before, but it was complicated to set up major projects that require significant capital contributions, such as the port.
We aimed to revitalize it, but not the means, the central government, yes.
This handshake allowed this project to come to life.
»
Kisumu does not intend to stop there.
In particular, the city should soon have a new conference center.
►
To read also: Elections in Kenya: in Kisumu, how do the victims of the 2017 violence approach the vote?
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