20100803
reuters

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's electoral authority said voting in Wednesday's referendum on a new constitution would be more transparent than the country's 2007 national election, when claims the poll was rigged triggered violence.

The referendum will be the first national election vote since 1,300 people were killed in the ethnic bloodshed caused by the disputed presidential poll.

"Kenyans have learnt a lesson. We have gone to the brink, to the precipice, and now we have to prove to the world that we can hold a free and fair vote," Ahmed Hassan, chairman of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC), told reporters.

"In the 2007 election, delays in getting results created anxiety and affected the credibility of the outcome."

The IIEC replaced a previous electoral body that was accused of botching the count during the disputed 2007 vote, in which President Mwai Kibaki was re-elected.

Kibaki was due to address the nation later on Tuesday and was expected to appeal for calm during the vote.

Kenya has been waiting for a new constitution for the past 20 years to address problems that have plagued its post-colonial history -- corruption, political patronage, land grabbing and tribalism.

A previous attempt to change the constitution through a referendum in 2005 failed when it was rejected by voters.