Kenya Election 2022: A basic guide to the vote
- Published
Kenya, one of Africa's leading economies, will be electing a new president on 9 August amid a surge in the cost of living and a debilitating drought that will challenge whoever takes up the post. But President Uhuru Kenyatta is backing his deputy's rival to win the poll and secure his legacy.
All its previous elections have led to either disputes and claims of rigging, outbreaks of deadly violence, or both. So Kenyans are hoping that this time will be different.
Who are the candidates?
The four-time failed presidential candidate Raila Odinga is trying his luck again. The 77-year-old former prime minister has a reputation as a formidable campaigner.
His big rival is the 55-year-old Deputy President William Ruto. He has proved a match for Mr Odinga on the campaign trail and has drawn large crowds.
Raila Odinga (L) and President Uhuru Kenyatta (R) have been opponents in the previous two elections
There are two other lesser-known names on the ballot paper.
George Wajackoyah has caught attention with his proposal to legalise marijuana cultivation and the export of snake venom. David Mwaure Waihiga is running on an anti-corruption message.
Why isn't the president backing his deputy?
Things have gone topsy-turvy in Kenyan politics. Mr Odinga was once an implacable foe of the incumbent, President Uhuru Kenyatta. The enmity between them can be traced back 60 years when their fathers, both independence leaders, fell out.
But in a remarkable turnaround the two men shook hands and made up in 2018 and Mr Kenyatta has thrown his weight behind Mr Odinga's campaign.
This left Mr Ruto out in the cold and made for several years of an uncomfortable relationship at the top.
What is the main issue?
Arguably, the deputy president has defined the grounds that this election is being fought on - the economy.
Whereas in recent elections debates about corruption and justice have dominated, this time people are very much thinking about their pockets.
Coming from a modest background, Mr Ruto, who is now a wealthy man, has styled himself as the champion of the poor. In this young nation, he has focused on policies to tackle youth unemployment and in 2018 coined the phrase "hustler nation" to refer to people struggling to make ends meet.
William Ruto casts himself as the champion of the poor
In an imaginative act of political symbolism, alongside the usual election merchandise, he has handed out free wheelbarrows at his campaign rallies.
He has also presented his candidacy as an attempt to end the domination of Kenyan politics by dynastic families: the Kenyattas and Odingas.
Mr Odinga is promising to continue the president's development agenda and improve the lives of vulnerable Kenyans by giving them a 6,000 Kenyan shilling ($50; £40) monthly stipend from a new social protection fund if he is elected president.
He has also pledged to provide affordable healthcare through what he calls "Baba Care", promoting himself as a fatherly figure in a nation of more than 56 million.
Is there an ethnic dimension to this election?
In Kenya, many votes are cast along ethnic lines and in previous years, this has sometimes spilled over into nationwide violence with people being attacked and killed merely on the basis of which community they come from.
The disputed poll of December 2007 was followed by weeks of ethnic-based violence in which an estimated 1,200 people died and about 600,000 fled their homes.
Since then, politicians have been keen to emphasise peaceful democratic engagement. But the issue of ethnic affiliation has not gone away.
Mr Odinga, a Luo, and Mr Ruto, a Kalenjin, will both be relying on the votes of their large ethnic groups to propel them into State House.
But in a calculated move both have chosen running mates from the country's largest ethnic group - the Kikuyu. In Martha Karua, Mr Odinga has also picked the first woman to run on a major political party's presidential ticket.
Concerns remain that in parts of the country ethnic tensions could spill over into violence and some people are moving to areas where their ethnic groups forms the majority to avoid being targeted. But, in light of what happened after the 2007 vote, the authorities have been taking steps to make sure that things are peaceful.
Will it be free and fair?
People will also be watching to see if the electoral commission has straightened out the problems which in 2017 led to the annulment of the initial election result and the whole thing being re-run.
The issue then was that the system to electronically transmit results from every polling station was not working in some places. Opposition lawyers representing Mr Odinga argued successfully that this allowed the vote tallies to be tampered with.
This time the authorities say they have taken measures to make sure that electronic transmission will proceed smoothly.
The speed of getting the election result will depend on how well that system works, but come the night of 9 August every result will be closely scrutinised by the candidates' representatives to make sure that they are not cheated out of the top job.
Are other elections happening?
On polling day, Kenyans will be casting six votes.
Alongside the presidential election, people will be voting for MPs and senators to go to the national parliament, county governors and county assembly members. There is a sixth vote to elect one of the 47 women's representatives to sit in the National Assembly.
How will the election work?
Polls are due to open for 11 hours from 06:00 local time (03:00 GMT). Anyone still in the queue at closing time will be allowed to vote.
Once closed, officials will start counting the votes at each polling station.
It is not yet clear when the presidential election result will be announced but the electoral commission has a maximum of seven days to count and tally the votes.
To win, a candidate needs more than half the votes cast nationally and at least 25% of the votes cast in each of more than half of the counties.
If that threshold is not reached then the election goes into a second-round run-off between the top two candidates.
Who is in the race to run Kenya?
Learn more about Kenya’s presidential candidates
Choose a candidate to view their bio
Raila Amollo Odinga
Azimio la Umoja Coalition
- Age: 77
- Nicknamed “Baba”
- Son of former vice-president
- Trained as an engineer in what was then East Germany
- Prime minister from 2008 to 2013 in the unity government created after post-election violence
- Formed alliance with ex-political enemy President Uhuru Kenyatta
- Four-time unsuccessful presidential candidate
- Championed multiparty democracy in the one-party era.
- Detained twice (1982-88 and 1989-91) as a political prisoner.
- Seen as a formidable campaigner able to draw large crowds.
- Achieve double-digit economic growth through investment in small business and manufacturing sector.
- Provide affordable quality healthcare for all.
- Disburse $50 (£42) a month to two million needy households.
William Samoei Ruto
Kenya Kwanza Alliance
- Age: 55
- Worked as a street trader as a teenager.
- Has a PhD in plant ecology from the University of Nairobi.
- Served as deputy president since 2013 but fell out with boss President Uhuru Kenyatta.
- One of Kenya’s biggest maize farmers.
- Charged by the International Criminal Court over post-election violence – charges later dropped.
- Portrays himself as champion of the downtrodden.
- Coined phrase “hustler nation”
- Owns huge parcels of land but the source of his wealth is a subject of speculation.
- Praised as an effective agriculture minister from 2008-2010.
- Seen as a powerful orator and robust media interviewee
- Give all Kenyans subsidised health insurance cover and a fee waiver for poor households.
- Allocate $420m annually to support small and medium-sized enterprises.
- Appoint a gender-balanced cabinet.
George Wajackoyah
Roots Party
- Age: 63
- Holds a masters in international development law from the UK’s University of Warwick.
- Says he has 17 university degrees
- Worked in police intelligence before he fled the country in 1990 to escape from torture
- Gained notoriety with eye-catching policies
- Lived on the streets of the capital as a child and was rescued by Hare Krishna worshippers
- Partner in a law firm he established in 2018
- Campaigns wearing a tracksuit, T-shirt and headscarf rather than a smart suit
- Legalise the farming and production of marijuana for industrial and medical use
- Switch to a four-day working week from Monday to Thursday
- Invest in snake farming to extract the venom which can be exported
David Mwaure Waihiga
Agano Party
- Age: 65
- Practised law for more than three decades
- Also an ordained reverend
- Previously ran for MP, senator and county governor – losing each time
- Founded Agano Party in 2006
- Says he brings a “breath of fresh air” to the top of politics
- First expressed an interest in running for president in 2013
- Set up an asset recovery agency under the presidency to recover stolen funds
- Slash income tax by half and get rid of it altogether for medics and police
- Give incentives to manufacturers and entrepreneurs to create jobs
