The overwhelming victory of Mwai Kibaki in Kenya’s presidential election raises the promise of dramatic renewal for Kenya, a country that failed to live up to its potential under his predecessors, Daniel arap Moi and Jomo Kenyatta. But Kibaki faces the daunting challenge of meeting the sky-high expectations of most Kenyans who believe that he has the will and the ability to ameliorate Kenya’s debilitating economic, social and institutional problems.

The positives of Kibaki’s victory are significant. Along with Raila Odinga and other opposition leaders, he melded a multi-ethnic coalition - the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) - that decisively voted out the Kenyan African National Union (KANU) that had ruled alone since independence in 1963. The conduct of the election was impressive when compared to previous elections, with violence and killings dramatically reduced. The NARC won 125 of the 210 elective seats in the National Assembly, to 64 for KANU.

With the NARC’s crushing victory over KANU(which was led by Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Kenya’s first president), Kenyans demonstrated they had had enough of the oppressive cult of personality Moi encouraged during his twenty-four year reign. Kibaki and the NARC offer hope that courageous advocates for political reform, bolstered by sustained international support, can offer a beacon to others in Africa seeking to improve the continent’s weak record of democratic change. Leaders like Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe would do well to take a lesson from Moi’s orderly – if long overdue – departure.

Kibaki and his allies campaigned to limit corruption, provide free primary education and medical care to all Kenyans, and reform the economy. It is reasonable to ask how they intend to go about what amounts to a major restructuring of Kenya. They will have a brief period to begin major changes before the impossibly high expectations their victory has engendered begin to turn to complaints and disillusionment.

Corruption affects every aspect of commerce and civil society, discouraging badly needed foreign investment. Institutionally, Kibaki will need to re-establish the independence of the judiciary and the professionalism of the civil service.

The state in Kenya is involved in economic activities best left to the private sector. An entrenched patronage system has meant that whom you know, or more likely whom you pay off, is what counts. Tribal affiliations have counted far more than competence in staffing government offices. Violent crime affects virtually every Kenyan, and discourages foreign visitors.

Kibaki has promised to tackle these entrenched ills, even while providing free primary education and health care. It is in Kenya’s interest that he make substantial progress towards these goals and avoid the pitfalls of his predecessors, as the quality of life will improve measurably as a result. For example, while removing corrupt KANU officials, he should resist the temptation to install NARC insiders as the new favored class in Kenya.

Short-term benchmarks that would indicate a positive start to restructuring would include (a) passing anti-corruption legislation soon, specifically the Economic Crimes and Code of Ethics Bills; (b) achieving a sovereign debt credit rating through initiatives sponsored by the U.S. and/or the UN; and (c) appointing honest officials to head public sector departments and entities.

It is in the international community’s interest to help Kibaki and his colleagues succeed. How best might this be done?

Friends of Kenya need to continue the ‘tough love’ message they gave Moi over the past decade. Kibaki’s election is a significant step forward, but the evidence of lasting democratic reform will come when post-election actions match the election promises. For example, while it will not be easy to deal with the human rights violations of the Moi era, the international community can provide useful advice on how others have handled this delicate issue in a manner that strengthens national unity while respecting accountability standards.

Rebuilding Kenya will require significant financial and technical resources, particularly in the early years before the economy begins to generate national wealth. International financial institutions and bilateral aid programs can provide much needed assistance, with appropriate financial safeguards. As most foreign assistance has been frozen for five years, there is a large pot of money that would be available to reward reform efforts. Kenya could aspire to be an early recipient of President Bush’s Millennium Challenge Account. This would be a so-called "Good Housekeeping" seal of approval that would help encourage foreign investment.

There are numerous business leaders - Kenyan and non-Kenyan -- in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere, who would be willing to assist a genuine reform administration in an African country. These people might be willing to combine their altruism with hardheaded business sense to help Kenya develop a functioning market economy. They may be able to devise creative ways in which so-called "dirty" money could be returned to productive use in Kenya. Such an approach would be novel, but one the Bush Administration should encourage.