Kenya is currently one of the most digitally advanced societies in Africa. Digital technologies and social media are widely used by Kenyan citizens and political leaders alike. In electoral contexts, social media has increased civic empowerment and engagement; but it has also increased the number of challenges related to the risk factors identified by the Kofi Annan Commission. These risk factors, combined with a history of election-related violence, make Kenyan elections particularly vulnerable to the weaponisation of social media and the internet.
With the presidential elections less than one year away, concerted action is needed to build the partnerships, strategies, and mechanisms necessary to safeguard Kenya’s electoral integrity in the digital space ahead of the 2022 elections.
The Kofi Annan Foundation and the Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD-Kenya), with the support of the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), co-hosted a two-day hybrid workshop with election stakeholders to address the issues facing Kenya ahead of its upcoming elections in 2022 on the 8 and 9 November 2021. The workshop participants agreed that the scope and scale of the problem – as well as the potential solutions – require a collaborative effort by all major stakeholders. The conference report summarizes the key outcomes of the two-days discussions and provides a set of actionable recommendations targeted at specific groups.