THE VOTERS` VERDICT IS OUT BUT THE REAL HURDLE TO CONSTITUTIONALISM STILL LOOMS LARGE.

The voters' verdict has left no room for any argument. Over sixty seven percent of those eligible to vote in the August 4 referendum went to the polls, and at least 69 percent of them cast their ballots for the proposed constitution.

While it is great jubilation for the proponents of the proposed constitution, the naysayers` leadership must be stunned at being buried by a landslide of unprecedented proportions. This margin puts to rest any fears on legitimacy as it clearly surpasses the international threshold requirement.

However, with the ratification of the proposed constitution, there is one last—and probably difficult hurdle to content with: reuniting the political class as well as the citizenry. It is worrying that even as we celebrate this accomplishment, the antipathy among the political class as well as the citizenry has gone a notch higher. If we allow this aversion to go on then it may have far-reaching effects on the quest for national cohesion.

Cognizant of the weight and sensibilities surrounding the just concluded referendum exercise, the two principals must immediately set the tone for the much needed national cohesion. They must endeavor to make the post referendum period a time for healing and a time for building the ties that bind our nationhood. It is therefore my sincere hope that in a gesture of national reconciliation and cohesion, they will find it most prudent not to sack nor force the cabinet ministers who went against the spirit of collective responsibility to resign. This gesture will send signals to all and sundry that our commitment to move forward as a united nation is paramount.

It is also extremely important that the political class makes an impassioned plea to the citizenry to understand the fact that the referendum outcome should not cause division but rather lift the morale of the nation and imbue it with a sense of unity so that together we can march with confidence into the great future. It is an open secret that political leaders have not made the case to tell the people living within the bounds of Kenya why they should care about one another. They (politicians) somehow, think that the evolution of a national identity will, one day, just happen, without anyone doing anything about it. It won`t.”

Lastly, as we move forward towards the fundamental alteration of our lives, I implore parliament to move with speed to put in place the necessary legislation for the implementation of the ratified constitution. The government too must ensure that there is an immediate and discernible will to prepare the citizenry for the transition process. This calls for the Government to immediately put in place civic education programmes to guide the citizenry on the transition process.

TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA,
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis