Political rumblings

The next Kenyan election is due to be held in March next year and it is impossible to ignore. There are posters for voter registration everywhere. It is all everyone talks about too.

The last elections were extremely violent. In the aftermath, thousands of people were killed. I went to a really interesting photographic exhibition about the 2007/08 election at the National Art Gallery last week and I couldn't help but think how different the situation is in New Zealand. Arguably the extent of our 'political' violence extends to mud throwing on Waitangi Day and environmental protests (who remembers how quickly the proposal to mine in the National Parks on the Coromandel Peninsula was dropped). In part I believe this is a reflection of having two very central political parties whose policies don't actually differ that much.

It is difficult to say what else sets NZ apart. Both countries are former British colonies after all. The relative lack of poverty in NZ undoubtedly contributes to our stability. The absence of corruption helps too. I saw in a recent article that New Zealand has come out first equal in the latest corruption index (alongside one of the Scandinavian countries, Finland from memory). Corruption is a big problem here. People are reluctant to trust politicians and the state here. I was travelling in a matatu the other day and saw the driver pay off a police officer with my own eyes.

No doubt there are many other contributing factors (and I'm not going to claim to even begin to understand the political position here (or indeed in NZ!))

All that I will say is, hopefully, for the sack of people here, the March election goes much more smoothly. Most people I have talked to have said that the pre-election tension was much worse before the last election. People seem optimistic. It is hard to judge whether or not this is warranted. I met an English couple whose friend is running for Parliament. They told me how two days previously he had been subject to a targeted grenade attack (he wasn't killed, but three others were killed). There were also reports in the radio today of a car bomb plot (with the explosive laden car still on the run).

I suspect that people play down the violence as they don't want to scare tourists away (after all Kenya relies on them a great deal). It is a fascinating country with a lot to offer and I really do hope for the best come March.