Addressing Kenya's not-so-credible elections

Accused of glossing over flaws in Kenya's election which later caused the result to be overturned, international observers are under a harsh spotlight ahead of a rerun next month. The 8 August poll, which saw President Uhuru Kenyatta re-elected, was annulled by Kenya's Supreme Court earlier this month on grounds of 'irregularities and illegalities', notably in the transmission of election results. Now foreign observers are being accused by Kenya's opposition and many media outlets of being too quick to declare the elections 'free and fair'. Marietje Schaake, a European MP who led the EU observation mission, blamed the 'polarised' and partisan nature of Kenyan political discourse: 'We get criticism for almost everything we say, from one side or the other.' A report on the News24 site notes that Jeffrey Smith, executive director of Vanguard Africa, a US organisation promoting free and transparent elections, said that observers in Kenya were seen as putting 'a stamp of approval' on flawed elections. 'The bar for what constitutes acceptable elections in Africa has been lowered to such an extent that it is virtually meaningless,' he said. 'Now, when observers say "peaceful" everyone hears "free, fair and credible".'