Alternatives for electoral reform in Kenya: Lessons from southern Africa

Kenya's political meltdown in the aftermath of the contentious 2007 elections tested the solidity and sturdiness of regional mechanisms tasked with conflict resolution in East Africa. Despite years of elaborate attempts to build diverse institutions for early warning, conflict prevention and management within the rubric of the East African Community (EAC) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Eastern Africa was unprepared for the civil conflict that engulfed its leading member state. Instead, the more distant African Union (AU) launched a mediation initiative under the leadership of former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, which largely marginalised regional actors. Despite Kenya's gradual recovery, the absence of regional institutions for conflict resolution presents a worrying trend in a region that is still characterised by profound intra- and interstate conflicts.