An international initiative supporting free and fair elections in Kenya began in Germany on Wednesday.
The East African Community (EAC) Secretary General Richard Sezibera led the international community in launching the ad hoc initiative called ‘The East African Friends of Kenya for Peaceful Elections – 2013’ in Berlin, Germany.
Dr Sezibera said the initiative aims “at promoting peace and tolerance to all political players and encouraging Kenyans to resolve any electoral-related conflicts in a peaceful manner.”
Dr Sezibera, who was accompanied by Kenya’s Ambassador to Germany, Ken Nyauncho Osinde, told Germany Investment Conference that successful EAC integration requires a peaceful and stable environment.
“Internal conflicts of whatever form, be they conflicts over shared resources or electoral will require an intra-regional mechanism that is privy to the context of the region and the conflict itself,” Dr Sezibera said.
He said the 2007 Kenya’s post-election violence was a big lesson for EAC because “it got everybody by surprise.”
“The consequences of the Kenyan post electoral violence in 2008 were not only palpable in the country itself but also beyond the borders,” Dr Sezibera said.
He said the March 4, 2013 elections poses an exploratory opportunity at the regional scale to ensure that they are peaceful, transparent and ultimately contribute to regional economic and political stability.
EAC trade
Dr Sezibera said regional trade has increased from about USD2 billion in 2005 to USD4 billion in 2010.
He said the region is fast-tracking the transposition of national laws that contradict the Common Market spirit to enable its successful implementation.
He also said negotiations on Monetary Union which started in January 2011 are to be concluded this year.
“By embracing a single currency, EAC Partner States would remove the costs of having to transact in different currencies and the risk of adverse exchange rate movements for traders and travellers,” Dr Sezibera said.
It is envisaged that the East African Monetary Union (EAMU) will deepen regional integration.
To promote political integration, EAC has developed protocol standards and benchmarks for good governance.
“The scope of the proposal covers promotion and protection of human rights, adherence to the rule of law and access to justice, democracy and elections, mobilization of key stakeholders and combating corruption,” he said.
On regional security, Dr Sezibera said the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) global piracy reports indicate that incidents of Somali piracy activities have dropped from 163 in the first six months of 2011 to 69 in 2012.
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