III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 431 

Calling for a peaceful resolution to the current electoral crisis in Kenya. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25, 2008 

Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself, Mr. SUNUNU, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. KERRY, Mr. 

BROWN, Mr. DODD, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. 

BOXER, Mr. BIDEN, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. 

COLEMAN, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. BROWNBACK, and Ms. SNOWE) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Calling for a peaceful resolution to the current electoral 

crisis in Kenya. 

Whereas on December 27, 2007, Kenyan citizens went peacefully to the polls to elect a new parliament and a new 

President and signaled their commitment to democracy 

by turning out in large numbers, and in some instances 

waiting in long lines to vote; 

Whereas election observers reported serious irregularities and 

a lack of transparency that, combined with the implausibility of the margin of victory, and the swearing in of 

the Party of National Unity presidential candidate Mwai 

Kibaki with undue haste, all serve to undermine the 

credibility of the presidential election results; 


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Whereas the Government of Kenya imposed a ban on live 

media broadcasts that day, and shortly after the election 

results were announced, in contravention of Kenyan law, 

the Government also announced a blanket ban on public 

assembly and gave police the authority to use lethal force; 

Whereas subsequent to declaring Mr. Kibaki the winner, the 

head of the Election Commission of Kenya (ECK) stated 

that he did not know who won the presidential election; 

Whereas in the aftermath of the election announcement, significant violence began and continues to flare; 

Whereas on January 1, 2008, 4 commissioners on the ECK 

issued a statement which called for a judicial review and 

tallying of the vote; 

Whereas the head of the European Union Election Observation Mission stated that ‘‘[l]ack of transparency, as well 

as a number of verified irregularities . . . cast doubt on 

the accuracy of the results of the presidential election as 

announced by the ECK’’ and called for an international 

audit of the results; 

Whereas the Attorney General of Kenya has called for an 

independent investigation of the tallying of votes and for 

the votes to be retallied; 

Whereas observers from the East African Community have 

called for an investigation into irregularities during the 

tallying process and for those responsible for such irregularities to be held accountable; 

Whereas some estimates indicate that at least 700 people 

have died and as many as 250,000 have been displaced 

as a result of this violence, which continues; 


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Whereas the economic cost to Kenya of the violence and civil 

unrest in the wake of the disputed polls is estimated at 

$1,000,000,000; 

Whereas the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs 

traveled to Nairobi in an attempt to mediate between the 

2 leading presidential candidates and has stated that ‘‘serious flaws in the vote tallying process damaged the 

credibility of the process’’ and that the United States 

should not ‘‘conduct business as usual’’ in Kenya; and 

Whereas Kenya has been a valuable strategic, political, diplomatic, and economic partner to those in the subregion, 

region, and to the United States and has been 1 of the 

major recipients of United States foreign assistance in 

sub-Saharan Africa for decades: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) commends the Kenyan people for their com3 mitment to democracy and respect for the demo4 cratic process, as evidenced by the high voter turn5 out and peaceful voting on election day; 

6 (2) strongly condemns the violence in Kenya; 

7 (3) urges all politicians and political parties to 

8 immediately desist from the reactivation, support, 

9 and use of militia organizations that are ethnic10 based or otherwise constituted; 

11 (4) calls on the 2 leading presidential can12 didates to— 

13 (A) engage in an internationally brokered 

14 dialogue, which results in a new political disVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:10 Jan 26, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR431.IS SR431

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1 pensation that is supported by Kenyan civil so2 ciety; and 

3 (B) respect the will of the Kenyan people; 

4 (5) simultaneously— 

5 (A) supports a call for electoral justice in 

6 Kenya, including a thorough and credible inde7 pendent audit of election results with the possi8 bility, depending on what is discovered, of a re9 count or retallying of votes, or a rerun of the 

10 presidential elections within a specified time pe11 riod; and 

12 (B) encourages any political settlement to 

13 take into account these recommendations; 

14 (6) calls on Kenyan security forces to refrain 

15 from use of excessive force and respect the human 

16 rights of Kenyan citizens; 

17 (7) calls for those who are found guilty of com18 mitting human rights violations to be held account19 able for their actions; 

20 (8) calls for an immediate end to the restric21 tions on the media, and on the rights of peaceful as22 sembly and association; 

23 (9) condemns threats to civil society leaders and 

24 human rights activists who are working towards a 


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1 peaceful, just, and equitable political solution to the 

2 current electoral crisis; 

3 (10) holds all political actors in Kenya respon4 sible for the safety and security of civil society lead5 ers and human rights advocates; 

6 (11) calls on the international community, 

7 United Nations aid organizations, and all neigh8 boring countries to provide assistance to Kenyan ref9 ugees who have fled in search of greater security; 

10 (12) encourages others in the international 

11 community to work together and use all diplomatic 

12 means at their disposal to persuade relevant political 

13 actors to commit to a peaceful resolution to the cur14 rent crisis; and 

15 (13) urges the President of the United States 

16 to— 

17 (A) support diplomatic efforts to facilitate 

18 a dialogue between leaders of the Party of Na19 tional Unity, the Orange Democratic Movement, 

20 and other relevant actors; 

21 (B) consider the imposition of personal 

22 sanctions, including a travel ban and asset 

23 freeze on leaders in the Party of National 

24 Unity, the Orange Democratic Movement, and 

25 other relevant actors who refuse to engage in 


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1 meaningful dialogue to end the current crisis; 

2 and 

3 (C) conduct a review of current United 

4 States aid to Kenya for the purpose of restrict5 ing all nonessential assistance to Kenya, unless 

6 all parties are able to establish a peaceful, polit7 ical resolution to the current crisis, which is 

8 credible with the Kenyan people. 

Æ 


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