Kenya has been experiencing an increased impact of drought in 23 out of 47 counties since June 2022. Some of the localities have experienced a lack of rain for over three years, while few of them have had less than normal rainfall for over five years. The affected counties have a population of approximately 17 million people exposed to hunger. Nearly five million among these people are more vulnerable to the effects of drought, with severe lack of food and water, and lack of water and fodder for livestock. This has put pastoral communities in dire danger. Millions of livestock have died, and beginning in January 2023, there are reports of individual people dying of hunger.

Some light rain fell in some of the drought-stricken localities in the period November to December 2022, but this was not sufficient to sustain fodder and water for livestock. This has resulted in the depletion of fodder and water and increased migration by pastoral communities to areas they would traditionally not frequent. In some cases, the people have shifted to localities outside of their communal ownership, and this has created tension and rivalry over fodder and sources of water between herdsmen. In a few of the locations, the rivalry has resulted in armed conflict over the sharing of water and sources for livestock. 

Elections are one of the key elements of democracy. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights ensures the fundamental right of every citizen in democratic nations to take part in the government of his or her country through transparent and open elections.¹ However, peacebuilders continue to face the challenge of ensuring and guarding the integrity of elections through people’s participation, especially in ethnically plural societies. In the Philippines, the International Observer Mission reported that the 2022 presidential elections “were marred by a higher level of failure of the electronic voting system than ever before, along with a higher level of blatant vote-buying, disturbing level of red-tagging and a number of incidents of deadly violence.”² The rampant use of disinformation allegedly perpetuated by those with well-oiled political machinery continues to pose challenges in the age of new media and only exacerbates the pre-existing divisive political rhetoric and public mistrust in the system.

In this issue of our newsletter, five MPI alumni and one former training facilitator reflect on the lessons they have learned in observing and participating in elections in their respective countries and the role of peacebuilders in establishing and/or maintaining the peaceful conduct of this democratic process. Latifa Nawroozi shares the impact of the 2014 and 2019 elections in Afghanistan and how they contributed to the Taliban takeover. Ridwan al-Makassary writes about the crucial role of peacebuilders in ending election-related violence in Papua, Indonesia. Padmakumar MM reflects on the importance of critical thinking to curb disinformation especially during elections. Balázs Áron Kovács weighs in on how peacebuilders can balance their role as a bridge to the communities while being engaged in electoral politics. And Jose Caetano Guterres and Elsa “Uka” Pinto look back on the 20 years of Timor-Leste elections and the efforts of many peacebuilders to ensure free and fair elections in the country.

Papua, Indonesia, has been a politically turbulent region since 1969 due to Papuan nationalists continued fight for separation from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. There have been countless lives lost and property destroyed in the protracted conflict. In addition, there is a horizontal conflict between Papuans related to local elections for regional leadership, especially in the highlands of Papua, where a candidate’s defeat when not accepted by one party can result in deadly violence. For example, in 2017, violent conflict in Puncak Jaya and Intan Jaya during local elections resulted in 19 deaths, dozens of people injured and several state and private facilities heavily damaged. The violence linked to the elections led to further deadly violence, blamed on Papuan nationalist groups.

There are a number of factors relating to why Papuan local elections are marked by violence. I contend that one key factor is the unintended consequences of using the Noken system. Noken refers to a woven bag of bark fibers that has a central role in the lives of Papuans and is used in elections as ballot boxes. There are two ways the bag can be used in the Noken system. The first is the “big man” system (authoritative man), which leaves the choice entirely to the chief. The chief can vote to represent his members. The second approach, namely the "hanging Noken" system, is based on the results of mutual agreement between the community and the chief after a deliberation process (giving deep consideration to voting involving all parties before deciding). Votes can be given to one candidate only or divided among several candidates, if agreed beforehand. To date, according to the Supreme Court, the Noken system can operate in 13 regions in Papua. However, there is a view that the element of community deliberation in the Noken system has disappeared in reality. "The head of the local election commission in Yalimo kabupaten, for example, has contended that the Noken system should be rejected on the grounds that it violates the constitutional rights of citizens" (IPAC, 2018).

Photo: MPI alumna Leonesia Tecla da Silva (2nd from left) with Police Commander of Police Training Center, Superintendent Arquimino Ramos, President of APTA, and a representative from the NGO Belun at the roundtable discussion on August 18, 2021

This year, Timor-Leste celebrated the 20th year since its independence on May 20, 2002. Just two months before the anniversary of its independence, Timor-Leste held its fifth presidential election, with the first round on March 19 and the second round on April 19, 2022. It has been due to the efforts of many peacebuilders that Timor-Leste was able to hold peaceful elections and has grown to be a relatively safe and stable country. In this joint piece, two Timorese peacebuilders and MPI alumni, Jose Caetano Guterres and Elsa “Uka” Pinto share how Timor-Leste arrived at where it is today and the role of peacebuilders in fostering a just society and peaceful elections.