Abstract
On 29 December 1992, the first multi-party elections — both presidential and parliamentary — since 1966 were held in Kenya. Exactly five years later this happened again. Not only in Kenya, but also in the international community, these elections were followed with special interest, for several interrelated reasons: (1) such elections are considered a major aspect of the ‘democratization’ process which has been imposed by the western donors on many African states; (2) Kenya has always been a very Western-oriented, open, capitalist and politically fairly stable country amidst a group of countries being quite different in these respects; (3) although less than in the past, it still has strategic importance for the Western countries (for example, Mombasa was an important harbour during the Gulf War); and (4) Kenya is a major ‘outlet’ for substantial Western donor funds.
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© 2000 Jon Abbink
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Foeken, D., Dietz, T. (2000). Of Ethnicity, Manipulation and Observation: the 1992 and 1997 Elections in Kenya. In: Abbink, J., Hesseling, G. (eds) Election Observation and Democratization in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-62328-0_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-62328-0_7
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