Kenya constitutional referendum set for November 21 News
Kenya constitutional referendum set for November 21

[JURIST] Kenya will hold its first-ever national referendum November 21 when voters decide on the country's new constitution [text, PDF; JURIST report], Kenyan officials announced Monday. The draft of the new charter has divided the country [JURIST report] over issues including presidential power controls, separation of church and state, and distribution of government powers. Protests against the constitution killed at least one person in July and some fear the referendum will raise tensions and spark additional violence. Electoral Commission of Kenya [official website] chairperson Samuel Kivuitu urged voters to "respect each other" and appealed to government leaders "to desist from making sweet promises to voters on condition that they vote one way or threatening reprisals against voters if they do not vote in a particular way." The Mail & Guardian has more.

Do you support or oppose the draft Kenyan constitution? How will you be voting in the referendum? E-mail us at JURIST@law.pitt.edu.

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UN General Assembly approves Palestine partition plan

The UN General Assembly approved UN Resolution Resolution 181 (II) on November 29, 1947, recommending that the British Mandate for Palestine be split into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an international zone for Jerusalem. The vote in the assembly was 33 for to 13 against, with 10 abstentions. The resolution sparked a war between Palestinian Arabs and Jews in 1947 and a wider war after Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded the new State of Israel in 1948. Read Resolution 181 (II).

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