There's nothing like a third world election to begin with.
Trucks with blaring speakers going down the street, complete
with running commentary coming from the front seat and a male
dancer or two on the back of the truck alongside the speakers.
It's quite a sight.
But at a deeper level, elections reveal a lot about a country.
Its recent history, its political maturity, the problems that
get people talking, the trust or mistrust that the different
players inspire. It's been interesting to watch both at the
local and national level.
The two leading contenders are Kibaki, the sitting president
and Raila Odinga. Kibaki is likable but plodding, methodical
bureaucratic and not particularly inspiring. Raila is inspiring
but often for the wrong reasons pitting poor against rich and
doing everything he can to frighten away any kind of investment
or capital. Calling all stock traders drug dealers is not exactly
the rising-tide-lifts-all-boats school of economic thinking.
The other somewhat disturbing tendency is tribalism. Kibaki's
tribe is by far the most westernized and prosperous of Kenya's
tribes. This has led to resentment and more than a little racism
among the various groups. In a continent with limited resources,
taking care of your own is a matter of survival. The downside is
that it has led to violence. Raila is promising decentralization
which unfortunately could highlight the tribal tensions as each
group fights for greater autonomy and control of their own region.
Fortunately, this will require a change in the constitution which
is a lengthy process.
The Bush administration is supporting the wrong people, in my opinion, snubbing Kibaki for normalizing relations with Libya and trying to work with the Muslim population which accounts for about 30% of the country. Oh well. Politics.
