Parliamentary elections in Kenya in 2002
Parliamentary elections in Kenya in 2002 were held on December 27 of the same year. The opposition National Alliance of Rainbow Coalition (NARC) won more than half of all votes and relegated the previous ruling party, the Kenya African National Union (KANU), to second place.
Election process
Before the election, a large part of the opposition formed the National Alliance of Kenya . Its strongest force was the DP of Mwai Kibaki with its base in Kikuyuland , supplemented by 13 smaller parties. Another opposition party was the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-People (FORD-People) with its voting base in Kisii .
After Daniel arap Moi could not run for constitutional reasons in December 2002, he put Uhuru Kenyatta , the son of Jomo Kenyatta , the first President of Kenya, through as the presidential candidate of the ruling KANU party. This resulted in a split from the party; the MPs of the former NDP party under Raila Odinga , who had only recently joined KANU, resigned together with other KANU politicians and operated under the name LDP. The LDP in turn quickly joined forces with the National Alliance of Kenya under Kibaki and formed the National Alliance of Rainbow Coalition - NARC.
The partners made agreements that were set out in a " Memorandum of Understanding ": Kibaki as a candidate for the office of president, Odinga for the post of prime minister, half of the government posts for the LDP and NAK, and a new constitution to be adopted within 100 days. This broad alliance won the presidential election on December 27, 2002 with its top candidate, the opposition leader and Moi's former vice-president Mwai Kibaki . The Rainbow Coalition (NARC) led by Kibaki also received an absolute majority (122 out of 212 seats) in the parliamentary elections held at the same time . The LDP members formed by far the largest group in the NARC parliamentary group. The opposition was essentially made up of KANU and the FORD-People party, which was regionally successful in Kisii.
Results
| Political party | proportion of | Direct seats | for women | Total seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Rainbow Coalition | Liberal Democratic Party | 56.1% | 59 | 7th | 132 | |
| Democratic Party | 39 | |||||
| Forum for the Restoration of Democracy - Kenya | 21st | |||||
| National Party of Kenya | 6th | |||||
| Kenya African National Union | 29.0% | 64 | 4th | 68 | ||
| Forum for the Restoration of Democracy People | - | 14th | 1 | 15th | ||
| Sisi Kwa Sisi | - | 2 | 2 | |||
| Safina | - | 2 | 2 | |||
| Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-Asili | - | 2 | 2 | |||
| Shirikisho | - | 1 | 1 | |||
| Ex officio | 2 | 2 | ||||
| total (voter turnout 56.1%) | 212 | 12 | 224 | |||
| Source: Daily Nation and electionguide.org . | ||||||
consequences
According to the current constitution, Kibaki took office with the power of his predecessor. When appointing the government, he did not stick to the agreement to give half of the posts to the LDP. At the beginning of the term of office there were publicly perceived measures to combat corruption, such as the dismissal of judges and the establishment of a public commission of inquiry into the Goldenberg scandal . At the same time, however, the process of revising the constitution quickly stalled. The changes agreed in the NARC included a change from the presidential system to a parliamentary government. In particular, the curtailment of the power of the president and the creation of the office of prime minister, for which Odinga was intended, met with resistance in the circles surrounding the president. The constitution, drawn up by a representative people's congress, failed in parliament.
This laid the foundation for the collapse of the NARC coalition. The LDP repeatedly called for the coalition agreements, and Kibaki increasingly relied on parts of the KANU and FORD MPs in parliament.
Finally, the government submitted a draft constitution in order to belatedly redeem the election promise. KANU and LDP rejected the draft because the rights of the president were only slightly restricted in it.
