By Otto Bakano
Friday, August 06, 2010
| ||||||
More than two-thirds of voters endorsed the new charter in a referendum Wednesday to replace the country's 1963 independence constitution blamed for inequality and political patronage.
"The devil is actually in the implementation," said Hassan Omar Hassan, a human rights activist. "But that said and done, I do believe that we will have quite a robust moment... within the very early stages."
The top-selling Daily Nation said: "It is time to appreciate that though Kenyans have spoken, the hard work lies ahead towards actual realisation of a new constitution and a renewed process of national healing and reconciliation."
The electoral commission, which announced final results Thursday, must publish the outcome in an official government notice and the president to promulgate it within 14 days.
It will nonetheless become law after the expiry of that period.
An implementation commission is to be set up to oversee the drafting of 49 pieces of legislation in a period of between one and five years. The new law should be in full force in half a decade.
Despite conceding defeat, opponents of the new basic law said their concerns remained valid and urged for talks to iron out their differences with the "yes" camp, which won 67 percent of the ballot.
Hassan told AFP that there could be sabotage by "the individuals who feel that their interests are really undermined by putting in place of the new constitution."
Writing a new constitution was part of reforms agreed on in a 2008 deal that ended Kenya's worst post-independence violence, sparked by an election dispute between President Mwai Kibaki and then opposition chief Raila Odinga.
The new charter places curbs on presidential powers, introduces a devolved system of government and proposes wide-ranging rights reforms.
Opponents had argued that it threatened to spark unrest through a proposed national land panel to regulate use and titling, favouring Muslims and legalising abortion.
Wednesday's voting, which passed off peacefully, was the first national poll since violence tore the country two and a half years ago, leaving some 1,500 people dead.
Western powers praised the east African state for conducting the referendum which was seen as a test of its stability after the devastation of the post-election violence.
Kibaki and Odinga -- now the prime minister -- said the referendum victory was a win for all Kenyans and called for unity to help see through the enforcement of the new law.
Some observers urged for pressure on the political class to ensure the reform process was not derailed.
"It's very common for people after a referendum to forget that it becomes a parliamentarian issue," said Odenda Lumumba of the Kenya Land Alliance organisation.
"The moment it becomes a parliamentarian issue, then you lose out on the substance of what informs the law."
Divisions and political wrangling among Kenyan lawmakers have often undermined reforms. Earlier this year, parliament failed to pass a single amendment to the new law despite tabling more than 100 changes.
However, the new constitution has set time limits for the enactment of the required legislation.
"There is no fear that it could not be executed...legally it is now cast in stone," said Gad Awuonda, a former member of the constitution drafting team.