| ||||||||||
Are you for or against the ratification of the proposed new constitution? | ||||||||||
Results | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||
Results by province |
Kenya portal |
History of Kenya |
---|
Kenya portal |
A constitutional referendum was held in Kenya on 21 November 2005. Although many government officials, including President Mwai Kibaki, had campaigned for a "yes" vote, the proposed new constitution was rejected by 58% of voters.
Despite the rising number of literate voters in Kenya (74%),[1] ballot papers used symbols as well as text to indicate the choices. Supporters of the new constitution were assigned the symbol of a banana, while the opposition was assigned the orange, ultimately leading to the opposition group being named the Orange Democratic Movement.
The referendum divided the ruling National Rainbow Coalition into camps for and against the proposal, as well as spurring violence between Orange and Banana supporters; nine people died during the campaign period spread over several months, but the process itself was peaceful.