Despondency in Kenya as Liberia heads to presidential election runoff

President Uhuru Kenyatta, accompanied by his deputy William Ruto addresses the press at State House on October 17, 2017. In his address, the President admitted that the country was in dire straits and urged Kenyans to pray for the nation. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • A runoff became necessary as none of the top candidates had an outright first round victory of 50 per cent plus one.

  • In Kenya, confusion intensified with the resignation of Roselyn Akombe, a key member of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

  • While admitting that the country was in dire straits, the President declared Sunday a national day of prayer.

Even as Liberia prepares for a runoff, an uncertain presidential poll D-day looms in Kenya as the world awaits the high noon of an exercise shrouded in uncertainty.

Amid assertions by the ruling establishment that it will take place on October 26 as scheduled, the opposition insists it will not happen.

Liberia, the formerly restive nation, concluded an orderly first round of the General Election on October 10, with official results announced by the electoral commission on Thursday.

Former football star George Weah emerged top with a convincing margin of 38.4 per cent of the vote, ahead of Vice-President Joseph Nyumah Boakai who had 28.8.

AKOMBE RESIGNATION

A runoff became necessary as none of the top candidates had an outright first round victory of 50 per cent plus one.

In Kenya, confusion intensified with the resignation of Roselyn Akombe, a key member of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

Soon after, IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati admitted that the political climate did not bode well for the immediate future.

During a televised press conference on Wednesday, Chebukati said IEBC was facing internal problems and could not guarantee a credible election rerun.

DIVINE INTERVENTION

In a nutshell, the ship of state seems to be listing dangerously on the high seas, even as the country walks on very thin ice.

Poignantly, in an address to the nation early in the week, President Uhuru Kenyatta seemed to practically plead for divine intervention.

While admitting that the country was in dire straits, the President declared Sunday a national day of prayer.

Amid a surfeit of relentless but disturbing rhetoric, the atmosphere is so toxic as to make Kenyans feel hopeless about the prospect of a return to sanity.

RULING ELITE

For now, the country seems to be at the mercy of a warring and relentlessly confrontational political class and ruling elite that have called the shots since the dawn of independence.

Already, the economy has taken bad hits and is in the doldrums even as the political class is embroiled in endless brinksmanship.

In the meantime, power brokers have forgotten the meaning of true leadership as “the game of politics” continues.

Sadly, gullible voters have been become cannon fodder for unscrupulous politicians.

POWER BROKERAGE

During election seasons, ordinary Kenyans who have lived harmoniously for eons are easily blinded by divisive false promises by politicians.

Once more, toxic ethnic rhetoric has been deployed by power-seekers who routinely pit communities against one another with the “our time to eat” charm.

Astonishingly, few citizens have processed the evident fact that political power brokerage is a preserve of the ruling elite.

This is despite disclosures, like the one made on live TV early this week, that major political decisions have in the past been made in private houses within the capital’s leafy suburbs.

LIBERIA

In Liberia, Vice-president Boakai will face off Weah in the presidential runoff on November 7.

Analysts say figures favour Weah, given his commanding lead during the first round.

Should the pundits be proved right, a former world-class footballer will replace a Nobel Prize laureate as president for the first time in the world.

The outcome, observers say, will however depend on “kingmakers”, none of who hit the 10 per cent mark. Among them are lawyer and politician Charles Brumskine.

He was third with 9.6 per cent of the vote and will join powerbrokers like soft drinks millionaire Alexander Cummings and former warlord Prince Johnson.

As for Kenya’s prognosis, nothing seems positive, and resorting to pleas for divine intervention looks like a good bet, at least for now.