Larry Madowo explains to CNN why elections in Kenya were ‘boring’ this time
Every election year in Kenya, foreign media houses shift their focus on the country, expecting the outbreak of chaos, lawlessness and violence.
While the same was the case this year, many of these media houses must be disappointed by the turn of events this time round. There were hardly any incidents of large scale violence before, during and after the elections for them to report.
Which is perhaps why CNN correspondent Larry Madowo has taken the trouble to explain to his employers that this year’s election has been very “boring”.
According to Madowo, the country experienced a peaceful yet boring electoral process, in which William Ruto has since been declared the president-elect.
“Kenya just had a ‘boring’ election’. I explained on CNN why that is a good thing,” he captioned a tweet with a video post.
Kenya just had a 'boring' election. I explained on CNN why that is a good thing pic.twitter.com/JeoO14gPuR
— Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) August 17, 2022
Madowo was stationed in Kenya during the campaigns and managed to interview both Dr Ruto and his main challenger Raila Odinga.
Contrary the expectation of the international media, the outcome of the this year’s presidential election, although disputed, has not resulted into violence.
Save for a few skirmishes on Mondat evening when the the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) announced Dr Ruto as president-elect, Nairobi and other parts of the country have been largely peaceful.
In his acceptance speech, Dr Ruto promised a transparent, open, democratic government and saying his political opponents have nothing to fear.
Unlike previous years, this year, the electoral commission invited the public to do the tallying themselves by posting online the more than 46,000 results forms from around the country.
Following the 2007 election, more than 1,000 people were killed after Mr Odinga claimed victory had been stolen from him. Dr Ruto, then Odinga’s ally, was indicted by the International Criminal Court on crimes-against-humanity charges over his role in the violence, but the case eventually collapsed.
In 2017 Mr Odinga lost to President Uhuru Kenyatta, the results of the polls were overturned by the Supreme Court, forcing a repeat election, which Mr Odinga boycotted.