See the chaotic scenes as Kenya elects new president
As Kenya’s presidential election approaches its first round and the country’s main opposition has said it will boycott the poll, the country is in a state of chaos.
As the campaign gets under way in July, Kenya’s two main political forces, the African Union-backed Jubilee Alliance and Kenya’s main opposition Mwai Kibaki’s Alliance for the Reintegration of the Country, are set to embark on a series of bitter rivalries.
With the two main contenders promising radical, even violent, changes, Kenyans will have to wait until the second round to know whether their political future will be more radically uncertain.
The first round of the election is expected on July 14. The results will be announced three days later.
All the main presidential candidates have insisted they will pursue an inclusive government that will represent all Kenyans.
Their promises to pursue a government on a platform of “transformative change” have not gone down well with the Jubilee Alliance, a coalition of Kikuyu political parties that has led the way in attracting foreign aid, business and support.
In its latest statement, the alliance, which is close to President Mwai Kibaki, said the Kenya electoral commission should conduct a “robust, credible, transparent and democratic poll”. It added that it would call for voters’ roll records to be published.
“We are confident that once the election commission establishes credible and robust procedures for conducting free, fair and credible polls, we will be in a better position to provide feedback to our people,” the statement said.
But it also said it will call for an election that is “involving and inclusive for all Kenyans, whatever their religion, tribe or race”.
Kenyan officials say the campaign is going well, with the alliance running close to the government-allied Jubilee Alliance.
However, opposition leader William Ruto said in a radio interview he was ready to join the campaign.
“I will join the Jubilee Alliance,” he said.
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