The official IIEC final tally has just been announced:
YES: 6,092,583 (67%)
NO: 2,795,059 (30%)
This includes the constituencies which were not included in yesterday's announcement at Bomas of Kenya.
Friday, August 06, 2010
New Constitution: An Oasis or Mirage?
So Kenya is basking in the limelight as among the few countries who can overhaul their constitution in peace time. Well, it has been along journey for both proponents and critics of the new constitution. First a deserved congratulations to all Kenyans for showing maturity and disabusing the doomsayers who never expected an African country to release poll results in REAL TIME just like any other developed country out there.
We are a lucky lot to be witnesses to a rebirth of a country. True, it is not perfect but what is? We have a plebiscite and it is upto us to better the template. At least we have the pride of place and mind to claim it as our own unlike the tattered Lancaster document that was thrust at us and then mutilated by our won for selfish reasons. And there comes the BIG catch.
It may be premature to pop the champagne just yet. We have NEW wine in old wineskin's. Implementation of the new constitution is left at the hands/mercy of the OLD POLITICAL guard. Can they make a clean break from their selfish and destructive past to do what is right? Well, the jury is already out roamimg and your guess is as good as mine.
Without abstracting the obvious, the new constitution provides a very radical road map on how to governance and other matters thereof. You can bet you next lunch that OWNERS of Kenya will not go down ushering in new FAIR ways of doing things that will jeopardize the leash and 'illegal' advantages they enjoy over the majority. They may not come out fighting but the RESISTANCE will definitely be massive.
The most difficult part begins NOW
The new constitution is no panacea to our myriad national maladies. We missed the opportunity to shape Kenya after independence and again after 2002 when we were the most optimistic nation on the planet. Will we squander this opportunity for the third time running? One only hopes and prays against all odds that we will not have the next two years of fiver pitch campaigns for 2012. How about putting a smile on the IDPs by resettling them to set the pace? Wishes!!
This new constitution provides the best rallying document to galvanize us as a country and NOT a mere sum of 42+ tribes. The ordinary voters have led the way, will we follow and take it to the next level? We MUST REBOOT of our national culture and lay out clear objectives with time lines on what we need as a country. A constitution in nothing without people respecting and living its ideals. You cannot legislate values, they must be nurtured by design.
We may be oblivious of the historic opportunity dangling before our eyes. Can we rise to the occasion and measure up? It may all sound evangelical but it is TRUE and DOABLE. Yes we can but can we seize the moment? Well, change starts from the individual before acquiring critical mass. It is incumbent upon each Kenya to start that change in his or her small way.
Welcome to NEW KENYA. Congratulations Kenyans. One people, one Nation, one Kenya.
We are a lucky lot to be witnesses to a rebirth of a country. True, it is not perfect but what is? We have a plebiscite and it is upto us to better the template. At least we have the pride of place and mind to claim it as our own unlike the tattered Lancaster document that was thrust at us and then mutilated by our won for selfish reasons. And there comes the BIG catch.
It may be premature to pop the champagne just yet. We have NEW wine in old wineskin's. Implementation of the new constitution is left at the hands/mercy of the OLD POLITICAL guard. Can they make a clean break from their selfish and destructive past to do what is right? Well, the jury is already out roamimg and your guess is as good as mine.
Without abstracting the obvious, the new constitution provides a very radical road map on how to governance and other matters thereof. You can bet you next lunch that OWNERS of Kenya will not go down ushering in new FAIR ways of doing things that will jeopardize the leash and 'illegal' advantages they enjoy over the majority. They may not come out fighting but the RESISTANCE will definitely be massive.
The most difficult part begins NOW
The new constitution is no panacea to our myriad national maladies. We missed the opportunity to shape Kenya after independence and again after 2002 when we were the most optimistic nation on the planet. Will we squander this opportunity for the third time running? One only hopes and prays against all odds that we will not have the next two years of fiver pitch campaigns for 2012. How about putting a smile on the IDPs by resettling them to set the pace? Wishes!!
This new constitution provides the best rallying document to galvanize us as a country and NOT a mere sum of 42+ tribes. The ordinary voters have led the way, will we follow and take it to the next level? We MUST REBOOT of our national culture and lay out clear objectives with time lines on what we need as a country. A constitution in nothing without people respecting and living its ideals. You cannot legislate values, they must be nurtured by design.
We may be oblivious of the historic opportunity dangling before our eyes. Can we rise to the occasion and measure up? It may all sound evangelical but it is TRUE and DOABLE. Yes we can but can we seize the moment? Well, change starts from the individual before acquiring critical mass. It is incumbent upon each Kenya to start that change in his or her small way.
Welcome to NEW KENYA. Congratulations Kenyans. One people, one Nation, one Kenya.
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