Washington, D.C.- The Joint National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI) International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) released its final findings and recommendations for Kenya’s 2022 general elections. The document reviews Kenya’s electoral environment and processes and acknowledges that significant efforts have been made over the last decade to apply the spirit of the Constitution to the more technical exercises of government and the electoral process.
Elections
In PNG, individual, socio-cultural, and institutional factors continue to hinder women’s political participation and their representation in legislative bodies. Cultural and institutional barriers reinforce each other and impact the extent to which women compete and are successful in the political arena. In the 2022 National General Elections, an uneven playing field—especially when it comes to campaign finance and election security—the traditional patriarchal gender stereotypes converged to prevent women from fulfilling their political rights in the democratic process.
Elections are a basic feature of democracy, and a strong democracy depends on the upholding of democratic principles. A free and fair election relies on several key processes that occur before polling, on election day, and after. Among other things, the amount and the quality of information available to candidates, observers, and citizens is important in order to assist them make informed decisions during the elections.
Building on past experience in citizen election observation, the Bougainville Women’s Federation (BWF) conducted an impartial, independent, and objective assessment of the 2022 Papua New Guinea (PNG) General Election in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB). The observation aimed to promote a process that is free from all forms of violence, including violence against women in elections (VAW-E) and assess the polling environment, the preparedness of the election management bodies, voting participation, and the counting environment.
Ethnic identity and related political grievances pre-dominated at the ballot box on October 2, as before, but other political voices broke through. While final, certified results in some of the races are pending, NDI staff in Sarajevo and Banja Luka below go through the outcomes and offer key take-aways of what the elections signal for the democratization agenda in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
Results
The joint International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) urgently calls for calm following the announcement of presidential results in Kenya and strongly encourages any disputes over the election results to be resolved peacefully through appropriate legal channels.
We, the Heads of the international election observation and expert missions in Kenya, have been following preparations for the 9 August 2022 general elections by all stakeholders in Kenya, including the campaign activities of political parties, party coalitions, and candidates. We call on the leadership of all political parties and their supporters, as well as civil society, faith-based organisations, and all other stakeholders, to ensure a continuation of the calm and peaceful atmosphere during the remaining phases of the electoral process.