The 1988 election was Kenya's most consequential election for democracy and authoritarianism. The mlolongo system and the brazen rigging demonstrated the depths of Moi's authoritarianism and convinced Kenyans that reform within the one-party system was impossible. The 1988 election delegitimized one-party rule so thoroughly that the political backlash ultimately ended Moi's monopoly on power. The election showed how excessive electoral manipulation can destabilize authoritarian rule by provoking public resistance. Within two years, the Saba Saba uprising and subsequent democratic movement would force Moi to accept multiparty politics.
See Also
- 1988 Election
- Second Liberation Kenya
- Daniel arap Moi
- Kenya Democracy Movement
- Kenya One-Party State
- Kenya Multiparty Democracy
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.