MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
14.1.2008
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Pasqualina Napoletano, Alain Hutchinson, Emilio Menéndez del Valle, Glenys Kinnock, Thijs Berman and Josep Borrell Fontelles
on behalf of the PSE Group
on the general elections in Kenya
B6‑0028/2008
European Parliament resolution on the general elections in Kenya
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 (the ‘Cotonou Agreement’), and amended in Luxembourg on 25 June 2005, in particular articles 8 and 9 thereof,
– having regard to the guidelines of the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights on the conduct of democratic elections,
– having regard to the African Union Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections (2002),
– having regard to the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and the Code of Conduct for International Election Observers, commemorated at the United Nations on 27 October 2005,
– having regard to the Preliminary Statement of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM) in Kenya of 1 January 2008,
– having regard to the Declaration by the Presidency of the European Union on behalf of the European Union concerning Presidential Elections in Kenya of 8 January 2008,
– having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas Kenya has made commitments to respect for fundamental civil rights, democracy based on the rule of law and transparent and accountable governance within the framework of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement (Cotonou Agreement),
B. whereas the 2007 Presidential elections in Kenya failed to meet basic international and regional standards for democratic elections and were followed by rioting and ethnic tensions that led to the deaths of nearly 500 people,
C. whereas, as a result of the unrest, according to the Kenya Red Cross around 250,000 people have been forced from their homes, particularly from the cities of Eldoret, Kericho and Kisumu, while many others are sheltering in their homes with dwindling supplies of food and water,
D. whereas intense diplomatic efforts, including the mediating mission of the African Union chairman, John Kufuor, between Mwai Kibaki of the Party of National Unity and Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader, have failed to resolve the political crisis,
E. whereas on 8 January Mwai Kibaki unilaterally appointed 17 members of his cabinet, before the international mediation had run its course, thus effectively pre-empting a tripartite negotiation, and prompting ODM to resume mass protests,
F. whereas Mwai Kibaki has called for bilateral talks with the opposition, a proposal rejected by Raila Odinga on the grounds that a mediation effort was under way,
G. whereas, during the election campaign, the freedom of association, expression and assembly were broadly respected; whereas, however, the political landscape was also marked by ethno-political divisions which are now contributing to the volatile situation in the aftermath of the elections,
H. whereas deep social and ethnic rifts underlie the current outbreak of violence; whereas the international community did not pay sufficient attention to these underlying social and ethnic tensions and must henceforth take these into consideration in any mediation efforts in the current Kenyan crisis, as well as in its future relations with Kenya,
I. whereas the Election Commission of Kenya (ECK) oversaw the logistical and technical aspect of the elections, improved access to voter registration centres and trained the polling staff,
J. whereas, however, the ECK did not demonstrate the requisite impartiality, transparency and confidentiality that are prerequisites in a democratic election, which is reflected in the unilateral appointment of ECK Commissioners by Mwai Kibaki prior to the election,
K. whereas the EUEOM observers were welcomed by the relevant authorities at polling stations, where polling was conducted in an orderly manner,
L. whereas, however, EUEOM observers were not given similar access to tallying stations and concluded that the lack of transparency and adequate security procedures severely undermined the credibility of the presidential results,
M. whereas turnouts higher than 90% were recorded at certain polling stations and whereas the ECK voiced doubts with regard to these unrealistically high figures,
N. whereas journalists who attended the announcement of the presidential elections on 30 December 2007 were then expelled from the meeting room,
O. whereas the EUEOM concluded that, overall, the election process prior to tabulation was well-managed and the parliamentary elections were deemed largely successful,
P. whereas however, the EUEOM concluded that the tallying process of the presidential election lacked credibility and therefore expressed doubts as to accuracy of the results,
Q. whereas the recommendations made by the 2002 EUEOM were not sufficiently taken into consideration, including the size and the boundaries of the electoral constituencies for the legislative elections, and that the tenure of office of ECK Commissioners should run to six months after general elections, in order to enhance the independence and professionalism of the election authority,
R. whereas the political turmoil will have substantial economic ramifications, with an estimated cost of $1 billion, according to Finance Minister Amos Kimunyu; whereas the tourism industry, which is Kenya’s biggest foreign exchange earner and supports about a million people, is poised to suffer most,
S. whereas the political turmoil has a considerable potential to hurt the interests of Kenya’s neighbours, particularly the landlocked Uganda, which depends on Kenya’s roads and its port of Mombasa for its trade to the outside world,
T. whereas four former African Presidents from Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia have travelled to Kenya and appealed to Kenyans to cease fighting and unite in order to hold their country together,
1. Condemns the tragic loss of life and the critical humanitarian situation and urgently calls, therefore, on government, opposition and all other stakeholders to do their utmost to bring peace to their country and to ensure the respect of international human rights and international humanitarian law;
2. Endorses the conclusions presented by the EUEOM in its Preliminary Statement;
3. Regrets that, despite the broadly successful parliamentary elections, the results of the presidential elections are not credible and acceptable due to widespread reports of electoral irregularities;
4. Deplores that the incumbent Mwai Kibaki rejected the offer of President John Kufuor to resolve the crisis and unilaterally appointed his cabinet, which severely undermined the mediation efforts;
5. Calls, in this regard, on incumbent Mwai Kibaki to respect his country’s democratic commitments enshrined in the guidelines of the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights relating to free and fair elections and to agree to the independent examination of the presidential vote tally;
6. Calls on both sides to engage urgently in tangible remedial action through negotiations with the involvement of an international mediator; supports, in this regard, further mediation efforts by a panel of African elders led by Kofi Annan, the former United Nations Secretary-General;
7. Urges the Kenyan authorities to agree to an independent and impartial mechanism to urgently, thoroughly and transparently investigate election irregularities; to take immediate action to redress the situation; and to make the perpetrators of these irregularities accountable for their actions;
8. Supports the proposal that a government of national union be rapidly put into place until everything concerning the results of the elections is known and that, if the need arises, new elections be organised;
9. Strongly condemns the violence following the disputed elections, and calls on all parties to cooperate in bringing those responsible to account; urges the opposition to immediately and unequivocally distance itself from those responsible for killings;
10. Calls for respect for the freedoms of association and assembly and urges non-violence during protest actions; urges the government to abstain from the excessive use of force against the protesters;
11. Calls on the leadership of political parties to take responsibility for preventing further violence in the country, to demonstrate a commitment to the rule of law and ensure respect for human rights;
12. Calls for concrete measures to establish a truly impartial Election Commission so that it will in future be better able to conduct free and fair elections;
13. Calls on the relevant authorities to reinstate live broadcasting with immediate effect;
14. Regrets that the 2007 general elections missed the opportunity to consolidate and further develop the electoral and wider democratic process;
15. Is concerned by the existence of social and ethnic tensions underlying the current crisis, exacerbated by unresolved land conflicts; welcomes, in this regard, community reconciliation efforts carried out at grassroots level by international and Kenyan civil society groups; supports dialogue between communities aimed at solving the key issues causing the main social and ethnic problems; particularly stresses the importance of the involvement of women and young people in these efforts;
16. Is deeply preoccupied by the social and economic repercussions of the current turmoil and its detrimental effect on the country’s socio-economic development;
17. Urges the Kenyan government to address the roots of the corruption that has undermined governance in much of the country, especially at state and local levels;
18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of the Member States, the government of Kenya, the Co-Presidents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and the Chairmen of the Commission and Executive Council of the African Union.