Kenyans To Vote In Highly Contested Elections

Kenyans from all walks of life will head to the polls Tuesday to vote for a new government.

Many political analysts have labeled the elections a two-horse race between the country's 77-year-old former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and 55-year-old William Ruto, who has served as Kenya's deputy president for the past 10 years.

Two other candidates have also been cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Kenya's electoral commission, to contest in the race.

On Monday, Kenyans could be seen confirming their registration details at the 46,232 polling stations set up across the country ahead of D-day to facilitate the nation's 22.1 million registered voters in exercising their democratic rights.

Kenya's 2022 general elections will have a total of 18,000 observers, with 1,300 being international observers, according to the electoral commission.

"I will wake up early tomorrow morning to vote in my candidates for the presidency and governorship and all the political seats available. All I want is change and a better future for my children," Aaron Cheruiyot, a businessman, told Anadolu Agency.

"We want peace, and I would urge everyone to go home after the elections and wait for the results."

Marilyn Akinyi, a mother of one, said the elections will "determine the kind of economy we will have in the next five years. We want our youth to get jobs. We want peace. I urge Kenyans not to vote along tribal lines but for change."

Many Kenyans who spoke to Anadolu Agency said that at the polls Tuesday, they would vote for a government that would lower the cost of living and the unemployment rate among the youth, who make up the majority of the population in the East African country.

Oscar Nyongesa, 22, lamented that "we have been suffering with no work opportunities despite graduating. Everything is expensive. I will vote for someone who cares about the youth and has us in mind. We the youth are the future."

-2 main contenders

Odinga, who is running for the presidency with the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance party, and his running mate Martha Karua, 64, have promised a government that focuses on manufacturing to promote wealth and fight unemployment.

Odinga has promised to focus on feeding the economy by relying on the country's ability to produce its own food, setting up a social protection program for over 2 million needy households, and focusing on promoting women-led businesses and providing general support for women.

Ruto, who is running for the presidency with his Kenya Kwanza coalition, says his government will focus on a manifesto that is aimed at transforming Kenya's economy to achieve durable growth while maintaining macroeconomic stability and empowerment of the people at the bottom of the pyramid.

The two main contenders have both vowed to focus on reducing the unemployment rate, which is currently at 6.2% according to government records, and dealing with the country's huge foreign debt which stands at over $70 billion.

Polls run by independent agencies are putting Odinga ahead of his rival Ruto as the most preferred candidate.

The latest opinion poll by Kenya's leading market research and consulting firm Ipsos shows the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance presidential candidate would win 47% of the total votes if elections were held on the day the interviews were conducted.

Economists agree that both contenders have viable manifestos that will boost Kenya's economy in the next five years but have raised concerns about where the financing will come from.

Gitile Naituli, a professor of management and leadership at the Multimedia University of Kenya, said "Raila Odinga is somebody who has spent his entire life trying to make Kenya democratic. He has promised to change Kenyan lives, but he has never gotten an opportunity…You can't go there and perpetuate corruption that has been existing in this country, and I think Raila, a Karua government would be a good government for Kenya."

However, Naituli also said a Ruto government would be good for Kenyans.

"Now William Ruto is a very hardworking Kenyan. He is an extremely brilliant Kenyan, and we need a clever president after what we have seen with Jubilee. He could fix this economy. As he says, he's not ambitious. I think Ruto is fine, and he has a right to be ambitious, because if you're not ambitious, you can't be president."

The commission on Monday suspended gubernatorial elections in Mombasa and Kakamega counties. The commission's chair, Wafula Chebukati, said the affected areas had the wrong pictures of candidates and their details printed on them.

"The election in these positions has been suspended to a later date which will be communicated through a gazette notice," he said.

Kenyans have for the past 10 years been under President Uhuru Kenyatta's government and his deputy William Ruto. His rule has been marked with great strides in investment in infrastructure that has left Kenya more developed but also indebted.

A report by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies commends Kenyatta, saying he is stepping down following the completion of his constitutionally limited two terms in office. This makes Kenya's elections noteworthy, given the recent trend of African leaders sidestepping term limits as a means of extending their time in power to the detriment of stability. -