IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 449 

Urging the Government of Kenya and Kenya’s political parties to respect 

democratic principles and hold credible, peaceful, and transparent elections in August 2017. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 14, 2017 

Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, and Ms. BASS) submitted 

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

Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Urging the Government of Kenya and Kenya’s political parties to respect democratic principles and hold credible, 

peaceful, and transparent elections in August 2017. 

Whereas the United States has deep interests in Kenya’s 

democratic stability and regional leadership, and a free 

and fair election in Kenya holds regional significance as 

an example for other African countries with elections 

scheduled in the near future; 

Whereas Kenya’s general elections are scheduled for August 

8, 2017; 

Whereas electoral violence in 2007 and 2008 resulted in the 

deaths of at least 1,300 people and the displacement of 

600,000, effectively paralyzing the country and the wider 


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•HRES 449 IH 

region for more than two months before the creation of 

a power-sharing government; 

Whereas Kenyans adopted a new Constitution in 2010 that 

sought to devolve power to 47 counties and their elected 

governors and local representatives; 

Whereas the public confidence in the electoral process is critical both to Kenya’s continued democratic progress and 

to ensuring transparency in electoral preparations, and is 

vital for the success of the August 8 elections; 

Whereas despite having a permissive legal environment, the 

Government of Kenya has taken actions to limit democratic space for civil society and media organizations, 

which could adversely affect their contributions to a credible, peaceful election and broader democratic consolidation; 

Whereas there have been deeply concerning instances of hate 

speech by all sides, inciting supporters to ethnic violence 

as a means by which to gain electoral advantage, intimidate electoral rivals, or suppress voter turnout; and 

Whereas the political parties, monitoring groups, and the 

media have the legal authority to record polling station 

results and tallies at the constituency and national levels 

in order to ensure that the process is perceived as honest 

and transparent: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) calls upon Kenya to— 

3 (A) hold credible, peaceful, free, and fair 

4 Presidential elections in August 2017 in order 

5 to advance Kenya’s democratic consolidation 

6 and promote stability in the broader region; and 


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•HRES 449 IH 

1 (B) condemn in the strongest terms the 

2 use of hate speech and the incitement of vio3 lence by political candidates, the media, or any 

4 Kenyan citizens; 

5 (2) calls upon Kenyan citizens to peacefully 

6 participate in the general elections and seek to re7 solve any disputes over results through the legal sys8 tem; 

9 (3) calls upon Kenyan political candidates at 

10 the national, county, and local levels to respect the 

11 Electoral Code of Conduct and the Political Party 

12 Code of Conduct; 

13 (4) encourages political parties, civil society, 

14 and the media to act responsibly with their parallel 

15 vote tabulations so as not to usurp the role of the 

16 electoral commission as the official source for declar17 ing official election results; 

18 (5) encourages Kenyan civil society organiza19 tions to continue providing critical early warning 

20 and response measures to mitigate election-related 

21 violence and further strengthen democratic proc22 esses; 

23 (6) commends the key role the faith-based com24 munity has played in ensuring a peaceful pre- and 

25 post-election environment through periodically conVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Jul 15, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR449.IH HR449

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•HRES 449 IH 

1 vening the Multi-Sectoral Forum to deliberate on 

2 matters of governance, election management, and 

3 looming insecurity; 

4 (7) supports efforts by the Department of 

5 State, including the Bureau of Conflict and Sta6 bilization Operations, the Bureau of Democracy, 

7 Human Rights, and Labor, and the Bureau of Afri8 can Affairs, and the United States Agency for Inter9 national Development (USAID) to assist election-re10 lated preparations in Kenya, including programs fo11 cused on conflict mitigation; 

12 (8) strongly encourages the Administration to 

13 appoint an Assistant Secretary of State for African 

14 Affairs in order to bolster diplomatic engagement 

15 across the African continent, including with the Gov16 ernment of Kenya, Kenya’s political parties, and the 

17 donor community, which has historically been critical 

18 during Kenya’s elections; and 

19 (9) calls upon the United States and Kenya’s 

20 other international partners, especially election-fo21 cused nongovernmental organizations, to continue to 

22 support Kenya’s efforts to address the remaining 

23 electoral preparation challenges and identify gaps in 

24 which additional resources or diplomatic engagement 


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•HRES 449 IH 

1 could make important contributions to the conduct 

2 of the elections. 

Æ 


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