KenyaNS go to polls today to elect various leaders, including the president, governors, senators, members of parliament, women representatives and members of county assemblies. The main contest in the quest for top leadership of East Africa’s biggest economy is between incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga. Kenyatta is the flag bearer of Jubilee coalition while Odinga heads the National Super Alliance (NASA). Kenyans in Rwanda will vote from the country’s high commission in Kacyiru. There are about 850 Kenyans registered to vote at the embassy. Speaking to The New Times yesterday, Trade, Industry and East African Community Affairs minister Francois Kanimba extended best wishes to Kenyan as they go to the polls. Both Rwanda and Kenya are EAC member states. Kanimba said that Rwanda was confident that the exercise would be smooth. Last week, Kenyan foreign cabinet secretary Amina Mohammed assured the region of elections that will not in any way affect integration or business across the region. Mohammed said Kenya had a peaceful pre-election period, an indicator that the country would conduct today’s elections responsibly. She said Kenya does not want to carry the tag and reputation of a nation on the brink of violence during elections. Mohammed said the Kenyan government had also taken appropriate measures to ensure that the country has incident-free elections, including deployment of security forces. To win the election outright, either candidate must gain at least 50 per cent plus one vote, as well as at least 25 per cent of the votes in half of Kenya’s 47 counties. If no winner is declared following today’s exercise, the election will go to a runoff in November. There are over 19.5 million registered voters in the country. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
