Electoral Violence, Institutional Change, and Democratic Consolidation: Kenyan 2007-2022 Election Lessons

Abstract

In the transitional democracies, election violence has been one of the most significant challenges to democratization. The election process in Kenya has periodically served not only as a democratic process but also as the source of political instability and institutional disruption. This paper analyzes the flexible association among the electoral violence, institutional transformation, and the democratic consolidation in Kenya between 2007 and 2022. The qualitative historical-interpretive design of the study, which relies on the institutionalism of history and democratic consolidation theory, will utilize constitutional texts, electoral legislation, court rulings, reports of the commissions, missions of observers, and peer-reviewed literature. This analysis shows that the post-election violence of 2007-2008 was a critical point that led to unavoidable sweeping institutional reforms, the best being the 2010 Constitution. Although these reforms have consolidated procedural democracy, judicial power, and the process of electoral administration, democratic consolidation has not been total and strong. Electoral violence has abated in scale but still exists in its latent and institutionalized forms, as evident in the polarizing of the elite, the losing of the trust of the people, and the naturalization of judicialized elections. The research concludes that institutional reform due to crisis is a necessity, though it is not enough in the absence of long-term political dedication, normative change, and trust towards the government.