2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum

2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum

21 November 2005

Are you for or against the ratification of the proposed new constitution?
Results
Choice
Votes %
Yes 2,578,831 41.88%
No 3,579,241 58.12%

Results by province

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.

  1. ^ Social indicators United Nations Statistics Division – Demographic and Social Statistics