,,iii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #bbh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #bj1
 #bjag ,mr4 ,cardin 7for himself1 ,mr4  
,coons1 ,mr4 ,booker1 and ,mr4 ,merkley7
 submitted the following resolution2    
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,foreign ,relations  ,,resolution       
,calling for a credible1 peaceful1 free1
 and fair presidential election in      
,kenya 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 has general elections 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   
#fjj1jjj in ,kenya1 effectively         
paralyzing the country and the wider    

region for more than two months before  
the creation of a power-sharing         
government2 ,whereas the people of      
,kenya 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 continued   
democratic progress in ,kenya and to    
ensuring the transparency in electoral  
preparations that is vital for the      
success of the ,august #h1 #bjag1       
elections2 ,whereas1 despite having a   
permissible 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 sides in ,kenya1 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 in ,kenya 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 ,senate-- 7#a7 calls upon the 
,government of ,kenya and opposition    
parties in ,kenya--  7,a7 to hold       
credible1 peaceful1 free1 and fair      
presidential elections in ,august #bjag 
in order to advance democratic          
consolidation in ,kenya and promote     
stability in the broader region2 and    
7,b7 to 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 fully and 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 in ,kenya 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 civil society 
organizations in ,kenya 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 ,state and the       
,united ,states ,agency for             
,international ,development 7,,usaid71  
including the ,bureau of ,conflict and  
,stabilization ,operations1 the ,bureau 
of ,democracy1 ,human ,rights1 and      
,labor1 and the ,bureau of ,african     
,affairs1 to assist election-related    
preparations in ,kenya1 including       
programs focused on conflict mitigation2
  7#h7 strongly encourages the          
,president to appoint an ,assistant     
,secretary of ,state for ,african       
,affairs in order to bolster diplomatic 
engagement with the ,government of      
,kenya1 the opposition1 and the donor   
community1 which has historically been  
critical during ,kenya's elections2 and 
7#i7 calls upon the ,united ,states     
,government and 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