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A constitutional referendum was held in
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
on 21 November 2005. Although many government officials, including
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Mwai Kibaki Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki (15 November 1931 – 21 April 2022) was a Kenyan politician who served as the third President of Kenya from December 2002 until April 2013 and is regarded as one of Kenya's founding fathers. He had previously ser ...
, had campaigned for a "yes" vote, the proposed new constitution was rejected by 58% of voters. Despite the rising number of
literate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...
voters in Kenya (74%), ballot papers used symbols as well as text to indicate the choices. Supporters of the new constitution were assigned the symbol of a banana, while the opposition was assigned the orange, ultimately leading to the opposition group being named the
Orange Democratic Movement The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is a centre-left political party in Kenya. It is the successor of a grassroots people's movement which was formed during the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum campaign. This movement separated in Augu ...
. The referendum divided the ruling
National Rainbow Coalition The National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) is a political party in Kenya. As an alliance, it was in power from 2002 and 2005 when it collapsed due to disagreements between members over a constitutional referendum. Formation In preparation of the 2002 ...
into camps for and against the proposal, as well as spurring violence between Orange and Banana supporters; nine people died during the campaign period spread over several months, but the process itself was peaceful.


Draft constitution

During the drafting of the constitution there were disagreements over how much power should be vested in the President, with many believing Kibaki was attempting to garner dictatorial powers. In previous drafts, those who feared a concentration of power in the president added provisions for a power-sharing between the President and
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
. However, the final draft of the constitution retained sweeping powers for the Head of State. The issue of
land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...
was also prevalent due to the frequency of land disputes between ethnic groups. The draft constitution sought to deal with this and included measures against the ownership of land by foreigners ( European immigrants and their descendants own numerous large tracts of land in Kenya). The constitution would have also permitted women to own land for the first time, although only through inheritance, and sought to establish a "Land Commission" that would manage and oversee the redistribution of land (the formation of a commission was included primarily as a means of preventing the gifting of land by government officials in return for favours). The commission would also serve as a human rights
watchdog Watchdog or watch dog may refer to: Animals *Guard dog, a dog that barks to alert its owners of an intruder's presence * Portuguese Watch Dog, Cão de Castro Laboreiro, a dog breed * Moscow Watchdog, a breed of dog that was bred in the Soviet ...
over land disputes and would attempt to give back land to ethnic groups and individuals who had unfairly lost land in the past. The constitution sought also to classify land as either government, community, or individual property. Many had been alarmed by a more radical provision which would allow the land commission to redistribute land that was "idle"—not being used to its fullest potential—to the landless and squatters. This met the most resistance amongst absentee land owners and nomadic groups such as the
Maasai Maasai may refer to: * Maasai people *Maasai language * Maasai mythology * MAASAI (band) See also * Masai (disambiguation) * Massai Massai (also known as: Masai, Massey, Massi, Mah–sii, Massa, Wasse, Wassil or by the nickname "Big Foot" Mas ...
, whose land could potentially be repossessed. Religious courts were also an area of concern prior to the voting. Since
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic religious courts already existed in Kenya, demands for courts specific to other religions (mainly
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
) were adhered to and the draft constitution provided a legal basis for a number of religious judiciaries.


Campaign

Because Kibaki so vigorously promoted the new constitution and based his election campaign around it, many voters used the referendum merely as means to voice their approval or disapproval of the Kibaki government. This would become the sentiment on which the victorious Orange camp would base their demands for snap elections, claiming the government had lost its mandate to rule as a result of the "no" vote by the people.


Opinion polls

There was a single opinion poll taken by Steadman International, which showed 42% against, 32% for and 22% undecided, with 4% refusing to answer.


Results


By province


Aftermath

After voters rejected a draft constitution, President Kibaki dismissed his entire cabinet and deputy ministers, moving quickly to reassert his political authority. Kibaki said of his decision, "Following the results of the Referendum, it has become necessary for me, as the President of the Republic, to re-organise my Government to make it more cohesive and better able to serve the people of Kenya." Although the dismissal of individual officials is commonplace in government, the dissolution of the cabinet in its entirety is rare. The only member of the cabinet office to be spared a midterm exit was the
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
, whose position was constitutionally protected against Kibaki's presidential powers.
Vice-President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Moody Awori Arthur Moody Awori (born 5 December 1928), known as "Uncle Moody", is a former Kenyan politician who served as the ninth Vice President of Kenya from 25 September 2003Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
. The dismissal of the cabinet followed a seven-month period in which its members never actually met formally, instead preferring to make political statements through the media. Kibaki pledged to appoint a new cabinet within two weeks, prior to which he would be managing the nation's affairs single-handedly. The cabinet had been increasingly divided for an extended period of time, and the issue of the constitution had created further fracturing. Because the National Rainbow Coalition was a grouping of several smaller parties (the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
, FORD–Kenya, Liberal Democratic Party, and
NPK Many countries have standardized the labeling of fertilizers to indicate their contents of major nutrients. The most common labeling convention, the NPK or N-P-K label, shows the amounts of the chemical elements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potas ...
), members of the Kibaki government maintained differing agendas and loyalties, often being more loyal to their party than to the coalition. Corruption charges and investigations into the affairs of the cabinet had gone undisciplined by the president, who had been criticized for not reeling in his officials. The response to the sacking of the cabinet and ministers by Kenyans, as a result, was overwhelmingly positive. However, the opposition spearheaded by the
Orange Democratic Movement The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is a centre-left political party in Kenya. It is the successor of a grassroots people's movement which was formed during the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum campaign. This movement separated in Augu ...
(whose key members consist of a number of MPs from the now moribund cabinet) expressed that Kibaki had not gone far enough and a dissolution of both the legislature and administration was necessary. This combined with the referendum's failure and Kibaki's inability to deliver on his campaign promises caused an increase in demands for new elections for the entire Kenyan government by the opposition leaders. After rallies on 27 November 2005 by the opposition demanding new elections as soon as possible, the Kenyan government outlawed all
demonstrations Demonstration may refer to: * Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting * Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought * Demonstration (political), a political rally or prote ...
in support of new elections. The Kibaki government dismissed the idea of early elections, and claimed that such gatherings were a "threat to national security". The opposition encouraged nationwide pro-election demonstrations and scheduled a rally led by the Orange team at
Mombasa Municipal Stadium Municipal Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Mombasa, Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , ...
for 10 December. The government called in police to seal off access the stadium and prevent the rally from taking place. All other pro-election rallies throughout the country were suppressed by law enforcement.Kenya: Police Ordered to Seal Off Mombasa Rally Venue
All Africa, 30 November 2005 Kibaki postponed the reconvening of the Legislature, which was scheduled to resume its affairs on 6 December.


Cabinet appointment

As promised, on 7 December 2005 President Kibaki announced his new appointments for his cabinet and empty minister positions. However, almost immediately a large portion of the appointees turned down the job offers; at least 19 MPs are said to have rejected the appointment. Many of those who turned down positions were members of FORD–Kenya and the NPK, who constituted the political backbone of Kibaki's regime. Both FORD–Kenya and the NPK formally withdrew their support for the Government, resulting in the rejection of the high-level posts by their MPs. Many cited a failure on Kibaki's part to consult with other parties in the coalition regarding the make-up of the new cabinet as the principal cause for the rejections. On 9 December 2005, Kibaki swore in the new cabinet, made up almost exclusively of his closest political allies.


See also

* Constitutional Reforms in Kenya * 2010 Kenyan constitutional referendum


References

{{Kenyan elections 2005 referendums
Constitutional referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
Constitutional referendums
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
November 2005 events in Africa