The 1983 election was central to Moi's consolidation of personal control over KANU and the state. The snap election allowed Moi to reshape Parliament according to his political preferences and to remove sitting MPs who might constrain his authority.
Moi used the election to demonstrate his control over the political machinery and his ability to determine electoral outcomes. The explicit government management of primary contests showed that Moi could engineer the selection of parliamentarians loyal to him.
The removal of sitting MPs through the 1983 election meant that Parliament would contain politicians more explicitly dependent on Moi for their positions. These new MPs owed their election partly to government support in the primary process and were likely to be more loyal to Moi than sitting MPs who had established independent constituency bases might be.
The purge of suspected disloyalists, including Njonjo and others, created a political atmosphere in which loyalty to Moi was the paramount consideration. Moi's demonstrated willingness to remove even senior figures from power created fear and ensured compliance from those who sought to maintain positions of influence.
The consolidation of Moi's power in 1983 meant that Kenya was moving toward personalist authoritarianism. The distinction between Moi and the state was beginning to blur, as Moi's personal authority became the basis for governmental legitimacy.
The 1983 parliament would be an instrument of Moi's will, subordinate to presidential authority and serving Moi's political purposes. Parliament would not constrain the executive or provide a check on Moi's power.
Moi's consolidation created a political system in which factionalism within KANU was constrained by the president's ability to remove politicians from office. The competitive primary system that had allowed some genuine electoral competition began to be subordinated to Moi's political control.
See Also
- Daniel arap Moi
- 1983 Election
- Kenya Authoritarianism
- KANU Party
- Kenya Political System 1978-1991
- Kenya One-Party State
Sources
- Widner, Jennifer. The Rise of a Party-State in Kenya. University of California Press, 1992.
- Hornsby, Charles. Kenya: A History Since Independence. I.B. Tauris, 2012.
- Gitonga, Ezra. "Moi's Kenya: Social Engineering in a Kleptocratic State." In Rogue States and State Sponsors of Terrorism. Edited by Robert Rotberg, 2007.