Kenya goes to the polls on Tuesday in a carefully fought race to elect the fifth president since independence from Britain six many years in the past.
Here are some facts and figures concerning the vote:
Four presidential candidates
From an preliminary shortlist of 17, 4 candidates had been cleared to run for president, the smallest quantity since multiparty democracy within the early Nineteen Nineties.
The incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta has served two phrases and can not run once more.
William Ruto, 55, served as a lawmaker and agriculture minister earlier than turning into deputy president in 2013. The formidable rags-to-riches politician is operating for the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) pledging to struggle for “hustlers” making an attempt to make ends meet.
Raila Odinga, 77, is the veteran opposition chief now backed by longtime rival Kenyatta and is operating below the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Coalition. The former prime minister has beforehand misplaced 4 photographs on the presidency in 1997, 2007, 2013 and 2017.
George Wajackoyah, 63, a Nairobi avenue child turned eccentric lawyer and former spy, is operating for the Rastafarian-inspired Roots Party, campaigning on a pledge to legalise marijuana, export hyena testicles and snake venom to China.
David Mwaure, 65, is a senior lawyer and ordained minister operating on the Agano (Swahili for “covenant” or “promise”) Party ticket.
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22.1 million voters
About 22.1 million voters are registered. Nearly 40% of the voters, or 8.8 million, are aged between 18 and 34, a drop for the reason that final ballot.
A complete of 46 229 polling stations might be open from 6 am to 5 pm (0300 GMT to 1400 GMT).
Election of the president, for a five-year time period, is by direct well-liked vote. The winner wants 50 p.c plus one vote and no less than 1 / 4 of the votes in 24 of the 47 counties.
Kenyans will even select 47 county governors, 47 senators, 47 lady representatives, 290 members of parliament and 1,450 county meeting members.
There are a complete of 16 100 candidates.
One of the most expensive polls within the area, parliament has permitted a 40.9-billion-shilling ($347-million) funds for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The African Union, the European Union and the Commonwealth are amongst these to ship observers to monitor the polls.
Biometrics and indelible ink
At the polling station, the voter’s id is checked biometrically utilizing an digital system that scans their fingerprint.
Each voter receives six poll papers, every a distinct color, for every of the six completely different elections.
Before they depart, indelible ink is utilized to the voter’s finger to guarantee they can not vote once more.
The IEBC says handbook registers might be used as backup if the digital system fails, a supply of dispute between the rival candidates.
More than 1 100 polling stations haven’t any entry to 3G or 4G networks with the electoral physique saying it’s going to use satellite tv for pc modems to guarantee protection.
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150 000 officers
About 150 000 officers might be deployed to guarantee the security of the polls, police chief Hilary Mutyambai mentioned.
Polling day has been declared a public vacation, colleges have been ordered closed till Wednesday, and supermarkets have urged folks to replenish.
Politically pushed ethnic violence broke out after the 2007 ballot, killing over 1 100 folks.
In 2017, dozens of individuals had been killed. Their deaths had been blamed on police brutality following the chaos and acrimony that adopted the polls.
After the polls
Results are due to be introduced no later than August 16 from the nationwide tallying centre in Nairobi.
Some observers say the presidential race might be so shut there could also be a run-off for the primary time in Kenyan historical past.
Any second spherical should be held inside 30 days.
If no candidate recordsdata a problem to the outcomes with the Supreme Court, the winner takes workplace two weeks after closing outcomes are introduced.
But if the courtroom orders an annulment, a brand new vote should be held inside 60 days.
In a historic resolution in 2017, the courtroom declared Kenyatta’s win null and void after a petition by his rival Odinga due to widespread “irregularities and illegalities” within the counting course of and mismanagement by the IEBC.
The incumbent went on to win the rematch after an opposition boycott.
© Agence France-Presse
