From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:KENYA: U.S. group says election process ''seriously flawed''
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1992 07:29:52 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: KENYA: U.S. group says election process ''seriously flawed''


washington, dec 2 (ips) -- kenya's electoral process, which is
supposed to culminate in multi-party elections dec. 29, is
''seriously flawed'', a prominent poll-monitoring group said here
wednesday.

the washington-based international human rights law group
(ihrlg), which has observed elections in some 25 countries in the
last several years, charged that kenya's electoral commission has
shown a ''lack of objectivity and seems ill-prepared for the
elections''.

the ihrlg also accused the government of president daniel arap
moi of using its powers to influence the outcome of the vote.

but janelle diller, an ihrlg official, told ips the group has
not yet concluded the elections cannot be fair. she called on the
electoral commission to offer free air-time to all political
parties on state-owned broadcast media and conduct voter
educations drives, while relaxing permit requirements for the
holding of political meetings.

the report also urged lifting restrictions on domestic election
observers and imposing stricter safeguards on the transport of
ballot boxes to and from polling sites to prevent potential fraud.

the latest report is one more indication that the moi
government faces an uphill struggle in persuading washington that
the dec. 29 vote will be sufficiently ''free and fair'' to justify
resuming aid suspended one year ago.

the u.s. and other western donors announced in nov. 1991 that
they and the world bank would make no new loans to kenya until moi
implemented far-reaching economic and political reforms.

in response, the kenyan president legalised opposition parties
and promised to hold the country's first-ever multi-party
elections -- initially scheduled for dec 9, but now put back to
dec 29.

in the meantime, the u.s. government has decided not to send
its own delegation to observe the poll. following a lengthy debate
within the administration, the state department has decided
against sending its own observers, u.s. officials told ips
wednesday. (more/ips)

kenya: u.s. group says election process ''seriously flawed''(2-e)

kenya: u.s. group (2)

in september, the national democratic institute (ndi), the
international wing of the democratic party which also monitors
foreign elections, issued a blistering criticism of the moi-
selected electoral commission and the way voter registration was
carried out last summer.

ndi chief brian atwood, chosen last month by president-elect
bill clinton to manage the state department's transition from the
administration of president george bush to clinton's, charged that
the electoral commission had excluded hundreds of thousands of
eligible voters from participation.

he said the international community should reject any snap
election called by moi under the conditions which then prevailed.

in reply, moi's foreign minister wilson ndolo ayah charged
during a visit here in early october that the ndi was not
''impartial'' and would not be invited to observe the elections in
the absence of a ''change of attitude''.

that was obviously before clinton's victory last month, not to
mention atwood's prominent appointment to the transition team
which should guarantee him a senior policy-making appointment in
the new administration.

ndi officials told ips wednesday that, given the kenyan
government's attitude, they had not asked permission to monitor
the election and will defer to their republican colleagues at the
international republican institute (iri).

the iri has sent several delegations to kenya in recent weeks
and issued a report in late november in which they criticised very
aspects of the electoral process.

but one member of the delegation told ips this week that the
government could still take steps to ensure the fairness of the
vote and that iri plans to send a 50-member observer group to
monitor the polls.

''frankly, moi could still lose this election despite all the
advantages he seems to have built into it,'' an iri official said.

diller said the ihrlg has not asked to be invited to observe
the elections but is sending consultants to help train citizen
groups who hope to conduct their own monitoring operation.

last month, the group sent british, chilean and danish experts
to kenya, while consultants from the united states and the
philippines were not given visas, she said.  the ihrlg has since
been assured by nairobi that all visa requests will be granted.

at this point, the greatest concerns were the inability of
opposition parties to gain access to government-owned media and
hold campaign rallies, said diller.

she also said that as many as one million people -- about 15
percent of the eligible voting population -- had not been able to
register to vote given the short and disorganised voter-
registration period. (end/ips/jl/yjc/92)
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