[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 228 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 228

Calling for a credible, peaceful, free, and fair presidential election 
                        in Kenya in August 2017.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 20, 2017

   Mr. Cardin (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Booker, and Mr. Merkley) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Calling for a credible, peaceful, free, and fair presidential election 
                        in Kenya in August 2017.

Whereas the United States has deep interests in Kenya's democratic stability and 
        regional leadership, and a free and fair election in Kenya holds 
        regional significance as an example for other African countries with 
        elections scheduled in the near future;
Whereas Kenya has general elections scheduled for August 8, 2017;
Whereas electoral violence in 2007 and 2008 resulted in the deaths of at least 
        1,300 people and the displacement of 600,000 in Kenya, effectively 
        paralyzing the country and the wider region for more than two months 
        before the creation of a power-sharing government;
Whereas the people of Kenya adopted a new constitution in 2010 that sought to 
        devolve power to 47 counties and their elected governors and local 
        representatives;
Whereas the public confidence in the electoral process is critical both to 
        continued democratic progress in Kenya and to ensuring the transparency 
        in electoral preparations that is vital for the success of the August 8, 
        2017, elections;
Whereas, despite having a permissible legal environment, the Government of Kenya 
        has taken actions to limit democratic space for civil society and media 
        organizations, which could adversely affect their contributions to a 
        credible, peaceful election and broader democratic consolidation;
Whereas there have been deeply concerning instances of hate speech by all sides 
        in Kenya, inciting supporters to ethnic violence as a means by which to 
        gain electoral advantage, intimidate electoral rivals, or suppress voter 
        turnout; and
Whereas the political parties, monitoring groups, and the media in Kenya have 
        the legal authority to record polling station results and tallies at the 
        constituency and national levels in order to ensure that the process is 
        perceived as honest and transparent: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) calls upon the Government of Kenya and opposition 
        parties in Kenya--
                    (A) to hold credible, peaceful, free, and fair 
                presidential elections in August 2017 in order to 
                advance democratic consolidation in Kenya and promote 
                stability in the broader region; and
                    (B) to condemn in the strongest terms the use of 
                hate speech and the incitement of violence by political 
                candidates, the media, or any Kenyan citizens;
            (2) calls upon Kenyan citizens to fully and peacefully 
        participate in the general elections and seek to resolve any 
        disputes over results through the legal system;
            (3) calls upon Kenyan political candidates at the national, 
        county, and local levels to respect the Electoral Code of 
        Conduct and the Political Party Code of Conduct;
            (4) encourages political parties, civil society, and the 
        media in Kenya to act responsibly with their parallel vote 
        tabulations so as not to usurp the role of the electoral 
        commission as the official source for declaring official 
        election results;
            (5) encourages civil society organizations in Kenya to 
        continue providing critical early warning and response measures 
        to mitigate election-related violence and further strengthen 
        democratic processes;
            (6) commends the key role the faith-based community has 
        played in ensuring a peaceful pre- and post-election 
        environment through periodically convening the Multi-Sectoral 
        Forum to deliberate on matters of governance, election 
        management, and looming insecurity;
            (7) supports efforts by the Department of State and the 
        United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 
        including the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, 
        the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and the 
        Bureau of African Affairs, to assist election-related 
        preparations in Kenya, including programs focused on conflict 
        mitigation;
            (8) strongly encourages the President to appoint an 
        Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in order to 
        bolster diplomatic engagement with the Government of Kenya, the 
        opposition, and the donor community, which has historically 
        been critical during Kenya's elections; and
            (9) calls upon the United States Government and other 
        international partners, especially election-focused 
        nongovernmental organizations, to continue to support Kenya's 
        efforts to address the remaining electoral preparation 
        challenges and identify gaps in which additional resources or 
        diplomatic engagement could make important contributions to the 
        conduct of the elections.
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