,,iv  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #ddi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,july #ad1 #bjag,mr4
 ,engel 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,smith of    
,new ,jersey1 and ,ms4 ,bass7 submitted 
the following resolution2 which was     
referred to the ,committee on ,foreign  
,affairs  ,,resolution  ,urging the     
,government of ,kenya and ,kenya's      
political parties to respect democratic 
principles and hold credible1 peaceful1 
and transparent elections in ,august    
#bjag4  ,whereas the ,united ,states has
 deep interests in ,kenya's democratic  
stability and regional leadership1 and a
 free and fair election in ,kenya holds 
regional significance as an example for 
other ,african countries with elections 
scheduled in the near future2 ,whereas  
,kenya's general elections are scheduled
 for ,august #h1 #bjag2 ,whereas        
electoral violence in #bjjg and #bjjh   
resulted in the deaths of at least      
#a1cjj people and the displacement of   
#fjj1jjj1 effectively paralyzing the    

country and the wider region for more   
than two months before the creation of a
 power-sharing government2 ,whereas     
,kenyans adopted a new ,constitution in 
#bjaj that sought to devolve power to   
#dg counties and their elected governors
 and local representatives2 ,whereas the
 public confidence in the electoral     
process is critical both to ,kenya's    
continued democratic progress and to    
ensuring transparency in electoral      
preparations1 and is vital for the      
success of the ,august #h elections2    
,whereas despite having a permissive    
legal environment1 the ,government of   
,kenya has taken actions to limit       
democratic space for civil society and  
media organizations1 which could        
adversely affect their contributions to 
a credible1 peaceful election and       
broader democratic consolidation2       
,whereas there have been deeply         
concerning instances of hate speech by  
all sides1 inciting supporters to ethnic
 violence as a means by which to gain   

electoral advantage1 intimidate         
electoral rivals1 or suppress voter     
turnout2 and ,whereas the political     
parties1 monitoring groups1 and the     
media have the legal authority to record
 polling station results and tallies at 
the constituency and national levels in 
order to ensure that the process is     
perceived as honest and transparent3    
,now1 therefore1 be it  ,that the ,house
 of ,representatives-- 7#a7 calls upon  
,kenya to--  7,a7 hold credible1        
peaceful1 free1 and fair ,presidential  
elections in ,august #bjag in order to  
advance ,kenya's democratic             
consolidation and promote stability in  
the broader region2 and  7,b7 condemn in
 the strongest terms the use of hate    
speech and the incitement of violence by
 political candidates1 the media1 or any
 ,kenyan citizens2  7#b7 calls upon     
,kenyan citizens to peacefully          
participate in the general elections and
 seek to resolve any disputes over      
results through the legal system2  7#c7 

calls upon ,kenyan political candidates 
at the national1 county1 and local      
levels to respect the ,electoral ,code  
of ,conduct and the ,political ,party   
,code of ,conduct2  7#d7 encourages     
political parties1 civil society1 and   
the media to act responsibly with their 
parallel vote tabulations so as not to  
usurp the role of the electoral         
commission as the official source for   
declaring official election results2    
7#e7 encourages ,kenyan civil society   
organizations to continue providing     
critical early warning and response     
measures to mitigate election-related   
violence and further strengthen         
democratic processes2  7#f7 commends the
 key role the faith-based community has 
played in ensuring a peaceful pre- and  
post-election environment through       
periodically convening the              
,multi-,sectoral ,forum to deliberate on
 matters of governance1 election        
management1 and looming insecurity2     
7#g7 supports efforts by the ,department

 of ,state1 including the ,bureau of    
,conflict and ,stabilization            
,operations1 the ,bureau of ,democracy1 
,human ,rights1 and ,labor1 and the     
,bureau of ,african ,affairs1 and the   
,united ,states ,agency for             
,international ,development 7,,usaid7 to
 assist election-related preparations in
 ,kenya1 including programs focused on  
conflict mitigation2  7#h7 strongly     
encourages the ,administration to       
appoint an ,assistant ,secretary of     
,state for ,african ,affairs in order to
 bolster diplomatic engagement across   
the ,african continent1 including with  
the ,government of ,kenya1 ,kenya's     
political parties1 and the donor        
community1 which has historically been  
critical during ,kenya's elections2 and 
7#i7 calls upon the ,united ,states and 
,kenya's other international partners1  
especially election-focused             
nongovernmental organizations1 to       
continue to support ,kenya's efforts to 
address the remaining electoral         

preparation challenges and identify gaps
 in which additional resources or       
diplomatic engagement could make        
important contributions to the conduct  
of the elections4