National Rainbow Coalition
Encyclopedia
The National Rainbow Coalition (National Alliance of Rainbow Coalition - NARC) was a coalition of Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

n political parties in power from 2002 and 2005 when it fell apart in a controversy between its wings about a constitutional referendum.

Formation

In preparation of the 2002 elections, the National Alliance Party of Kenya
National Alliance Party of Kenya
The National Alliance Party of Kenya is a political party in Kenya. The National Alliance Party of Kenya was formed on July 3, 2000 when people from varying background decided to form an alliance of democratic forces to work for the social, economic and political unity and welfare of Kenyan...

 (Formerly NAK now NAPK) allied itself with the Liberal Democratic Party
Liberal Democratic Party (Kenya)
The Liberal Democratic Party was a political party in Kenya.In the general election held on 27 December 2002, the party was a partner in the National Rainbow Coalition, which won 56.1 % of the popular vote and 125 out of 212 elected seats. The party itself took 59 of these seats...

 (LDP) to form the National Alliance of Rainbow Coalition (NARC). On December 27, 2002, NARC won a landslide victory over KANU
Kenya African National Union
The Kenya African National Union, better known as KANU is a political party which ruled Kenya for nearly 40 years after its independence from British colonial rule in 1963, until its electoral loss at the end of 2002...

. NARC presidential candidate Mwai Kibaki
Mwai Kibaki
Mwai Kibaki is the current and third President of the republic of Kenya.Kibaki was previously Vice President of Kenya for ten years from 1978–1988 and also held cabinet ministerial positions, including a widely acclaimed stint as Minister for Finance , Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for...

 got 62% of the votes in the presidential elections, against only 31% for the KANU candidate, Uhuru Kenyatta
Uhuru Kenyatta
Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta is a Kenyan politician, currently serving as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Finance and MP for Gatundu South Constituency. He is the Chairman of Kenya African National Union , the former ruling party, which is currently part of the Party of National Unity...

. On December 30, 2002, Mwai Kibaki was sworn in as the third President of Kenya
Heads of state of Kenya
-Heads of State of Kenya :-Affiliations:*KANU - Kenya African National Union*PNU - Party of National Unity-Latest election:-See also:*List of colonial heads of Kenya*Kenya**Heads of Government of Kenya**Vice-Presidents of Kenya...

.

NARC Government

Despite its initial popularity, the NARC-led government has been troublesome. The friction between LDP and those loyal to Kibaki became apparent. After the Kenyan constitutional referendum in 2005
Kenyan constitutional referendum, 2005
The 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum was held on 21 November 2005. The proposed new constitution was voted down by a 58% majority of Kenya's voters...

, all LDP members were thrown out of the government. Subsequently LDP became an opposition party, forming the Orange Democratic Movement
Orange Democratic Movement
Orange Democratic Movement refers to a political party in Kenya, which is the successor of a former grassroots people's movement which was formed in the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum. The erstwhile single party which separated in August 2007 into two...

, a coalition opposition politicians. Later, NARC members loyal to Kibaki founded a new party, NARC-Kenya
Narc-Kenya
The National Rainbow Coalition–Kenya is a political party in Kenya. The party was formed after the defeat of the Government sponsored Draft constitution. It was formed by National Rainbow Coalition members loyal to the government...

. Consequently, the original NARC was left in the hands of its chairperson Charity Ngilu
Charity Ngilu
Charity Kaluki Ngilu is a Kenyan politician. She was Minister of Health from 2003 until 2007 and was appointed as Minister of Water and Irrigation in April 2008....

 who also served as the minister of health.

2007 Elections

On October 5, 2007, Ngilu announced her support for the Orange Democratic Movement
Orange Democratic Movement
Orange Democratic Movement refers to a political party in Kenya, which is the successor of a former grassroots people's movement which was formed in the 2005 Kenyan constitutional referendum. The erstwhile single party which separated in August 2007 into two...

 and its presidential candidate, Raila Odinga
Raila Odinga
Raila Amollo Odinga , also popularly known to Kenyans as Agwambo, is a Kenyan politician, currently serving as the Prime Minister of Kenya in a coalition government. He has served as a Member of Parliament for Langata since 1992, was Minister of Energy from 2001 to 2002, and was Minister of Roads,...

, in the December 2007 general election
Kenyan general election, 2007
Kenyan general election, 2007 was held on 27 December 2007 . It comprised Presidential, parliamentary and civic elections. The previous general election in Kenya was held in 2002.-See also:*Kenyan presidential election, 2007...

;. She initially said that she was remaining in the government, despite backing Kibaki's main rival. However, her dismissal from the government by Kibaki was announced on October 6. While supporting ODM, Ngilu defended her parliamentary seat on NARC ticket.

Altogether NARC under Ngilu won 3 seats in the new Kenyan parliament.

See also

  • Democratic Party
    Democratic Party (Kenya)
    The Democratic Party is a conservative political party in Kenya.At the last legislative elections, 27 December 2002, the party was a partner in the National Rainbow Coalition, that won 56.1% of the popular vote and 125 out of 210 elected seats. The party itself took 36 of these seats...

  • Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-Kenya
  • Liberal Democratic Party
    Liberal Democratic Party (Kenya)
    The Liberal Democratic Party was a political party in Kenya.In the general election held on 27 December 2002, the party was a partner in the National Rainbow Coalition, which won 56.1 % of the popular vote and 125 out of 212 elected seats. The party itself took 59 of these seats...

  • National Alliance Party of Kenya
    National Alliance Party of Kenya
    The National Alliance Party of Kenya is a political party in Kenya. The National Alliance Party of Kenya was formed on July 3, 2000 when people from varying background decided to form an alliance of democratic forces to work for the social, economic and political unity and welfare of Kenyan...

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