THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-August 11, 2017- Topic 2
Race for Nairobi
Controversies surrounding Kenya presidential election
Kenya’s elections typically have not just highly charged campaigns, but
they are protracted affairs after the vote too, with fierce contestation over
the result and often violence. It had been hoped that this month’s presidential
election would break that cycle, but events have so far played to previous
trends. All votes have still not been counted, but with well over 90% of the
polling stations declaring results, President Uhuru Kenyatta had secured almost
55% of the vote, with the Opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, trailing by about
10 percentage points.
Mr. Odinga of the National Super Alliance has disputed
the provisional lead for the incumbent in Tuesday’s election. The former Prime
Minister has claimed the Opposition alliance’s own tabulation is at variance
with the provisional figures, alleging that official databases have been
hacked. The election commission dismissed the allegations, insisting that the
polls were held in a free and fair manner after an overhaul of the mechanism.
Curiously, the poll authority said that it had not received any formal
complaint from the Opposition. The suspense over the ultimate outcome is likely
to linger, not just because the election commission is allowed seven days to
declare the final tally. The two-stage process in the announcement of the
results, besides poor electronic connectivity to interior regions, could
complicate matters. For instance, the provisional tallies are based on text
messages sent by the returning officers from various polling stations to the
commission’s database. The final official results are calculated from the
prescribed forms filled out at different polling centres and transmitted
electronically to the commission.
The technically complex system — the tabulation system broke down in the
previous election — has added grist to the Opposition mill. Mr. Odinga had
exuded confidence about his own prospects, while expressing cautious optimism
about the conduct of a free and fair poll following a reshuffle in the
electoral body. But he has now sought to make connections between the murder of
a top poll official last week and the results. Equally, there have been
concerns over the maintenance of law and order during previous elections. More
than 1,000 people were killed in post-election violence in 2008, drawing
international condemnation. The 2013 presidential election was marred by
clashes. The availability of well-established channels to resolve electoral
disputes is a pre-requisite for a functioning democracy, and Kenya needs to
consider further reforms in the light of repeated disputes. But the
shortcomings of these institutions cannot be a licence for the display of
muscle power and violation of fundamental freedoms. The government as well as
the Opposition have a moral responsibility to ensure that the current
controversy does not deteriorate into violence and bloodshed.
Vocabulary
Protracted: lasting for a long time or longer than expected or usual.
Example: A protracted and bitter dispute
Synonyms: prolonged, long-lasting, extended, long-drawn-out, spun
out
Fierce: having
or displaying an intense or ferocious aggressiveness.
Example: As women, we need to accept that we can be fierce, cunning, and
predatory
Synonyms: ferocious, savage, vicious, aggressive
Contestation: the action or process of disputing or arguing.
Example: Hall deals with the process of contestation and what is required to
replace embedded ideas
Trailing: draw
or be drawn along the ground or other surface behind someone or something.
Example: Alex trailed a hand through the clear water
Synonyms: drag, sweep, swish, be drawn, dangle, hang
(down), droop
Incumbent: necessary
for someone as a duty or responsibility.
Example: It is incumbent on all decent people to concentrate on destroying
this evil
Synonyms: necessary for one to, essential that, required
that, imperative that
Variance: the
fact or quality of being different, divergent, or inconsistent.
Example: Her light tone was at variance with her sudden trembling
Synonyms: difference, variation, discrepancy, dissimilarity, disagreement, conflict
Complicate: make something more difficult or confusing by causing it to be more
complex.
Example: Middlemen can complicate the process
Synonyms: make more difficult, make complicated, mix up, confuse
Grist: useful
material, especially to back up an argument.
Example: The research provided the most sensational grist for opponents of
tobacco
Pre-requisite: required as a prior condition.
Example: The student must have the prerequisite skills
Synonyms: necessary, required, called
for, essential, requisite, obligatory
Bloodshed: the
killing or wounding of people, typically on a large scale during a conflict.
Example: Fresh troops arrived in the city throughout the day, triggering fears
of further bloodshed .
Synonyms: slaughter, massacre, killing, wounding, carnage, butchery
