Why Were Kenya’s 2013 Elections Peaceful?
Read the Event CoverageTo understand why and how Kenya avoided electoral violence, it is necessary to understand the underlying conditions and triggers that set off the violence five years ago, why the circumstances were different in 2013, and the impact of interventions designed to prevent new violence. On May 21, 2013, the U.S. Institute of Peace held a discussion of these issues and the lessons from Kenya’s peaceful elections that may be more broadly applicable.
Based on the violent response to Kenya’s 2007 elections in which more than one thousand people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced, Kenyans and the international community were seized by the possibility of a repetition of the violence following the 2013 national elections. But Kenya remained relatively quiet through the election process, and Kenya’s economy, and that of the east African region, went undisturbed.
To understand why and how Kenya avoided electoral violence, it is necessary to understand the underlying conditions and triggers that set off the violence five years ago, why the circumstances were different in 2013, and the impact of interventions designed to prevent new violence. On May 21, 2013, the U.S. Institute of Peace held a discussion of these issues and the lessons from Kenya’s peaceful elections that may be more broadly applicable.
Panelists
John Langlois
Kenya Country Representative
USAID Office of Transition Initiatives
Sam Kona
Conflict Management Specialist
USAID/Kenya
Rachel Brown
Founder & CEO
Sisi ni Amani Kenya
Jacqueline Wilson
Senior Program Officer
U.S. Institute of Peace
Jon Temin, Moderator
Director, Horn of Africa Program
U.S. Institute of Peace
