Final pitches in elections set to go down as the most expensive in Kenyan history

Kenyans go to the polls on Monday to elect the country’s fourth President in an exercise that has been dubbed the most expensive in the country’s history.

Apart from eight presidential candidates who will be seeking to take over from retiring President Mwai Kibaki, Kenyans will also elect their governors, senators, Members of Parliament, women representatives and County Assembly Representatives.

This will be the first elections to be held under the new Constitution that was passed and promulgated during the 2010 referendum.

The General Election could also be the first presidential election in Kenya’s history where candidates face a run-off between the top two if no one achieves absolute majority of more than half of the total votes cast in the first round as well as 25 per cent of the votes in majority of the 47 counties.

Four major coalitions, bringing together a plethora of political parties, will be fighting it out with four other political parties whose presidential flag bearers chose to contest the elections without entering into any pre-election agreements.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement is leading the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), which brings together over 10 political parties including Vice- President Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper Democratic Movement and Trade Minister Moses Wetangula’s Ford Kenya. Mr Musyoka is Odinga’s Presidential running mate.

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta of The National Alliance will be contesting the presidency alongside his running mate Eldoret North MP William Ruto on the Jubilee Alliance ticket.Mr Ruto heads the United Republican Party (URP) which entered into a pre- election coalition with TNA.

Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi of the Amani Coalition, which brings together his United Democratic Front (UDF), Justice Minister Eugene Wamalwa’s New Ford Kenya and Kanu, will be teaming up with former Ndaragua MP Jeremiah Kioni in their bid to succeed Kibaki.

Planning and National Development Assistant Minister Peter Kenneth and his running mate Ronnie Osumba will be flying the Eagle Alliance flag, bringing together the Kenya National Congress and Party of Action (POA) headed by former Tourism minister Raphael Tuju.

Outgoing Gichugu MP Martha Karua will be battling it out on a Narc Kenya Party ticket while former Kabete MP Paul Muite will use the Safina Party to seek the top job in Monday elections. Ms Karua picked former East African Legislative Assembly member Augustine Lotodo as running mate while Muite settled on Dr Shem Ochuodho as his deputy president.

Former Education Permanent Secretary James Ole Kiyiapi of the Restore and Build Kenya Party (RBK) and former Lenana High School literature teacher Mohammed Abduba Dida who heads the Alliance for Real Change party (ARC) will also bank on voters to get the top job on the land. Mr Kiyiapi picked businesswoman Winnie Kinyua to be his running mate while Dida’s deputy is 29 year old Joshua Odongo Onono.

Polling stations open on Monday at 6am and close at 5pm where counting and tallying of results will begin to stream in.

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) would be for the first time in Kenyan history conducting the first General Election using biometric technology to identify the 14,352,545 voters who registered for the polls.

The commission has set up national polling centre at Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi, where the results from polling stations will stream to in real time. The result will also be relayed concurrently to constituency and county tallying centres.

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