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Kenya: Presidential and general elections set for March 4, 2013
Kenya on Saturday said the first general elections since the last poll five years ago, would be held on March 4, 2013, ending weeks of heated exchanges between rival politicians.
“We are going by a constitutional court ruling, which requires us to hold elections 60 days from when the parliament term ends,” said Ahmed Issack Hassan, chairman of Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
A high court ruled in January that elections should be held within 60 days of the expiry of the current parliament’s mandate in mid-January 2013.
However, the court also said the elections could be brought forward if there was a written agreement between President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to dissolve the coalition government they head.
The IEBC said it had failed to receive a decision on that matter after meeting with both leaders, and so had gone ahead with the step to set the date.
“It has become apparent to us that they don’t intend to dissolve the coalition. There is a disagreement amongst them on when polls should be held,” Hassan said. “That is why we took it upon ourselves to fix the date.”
President Kibaki will not contest the next election. He is serving his second and final term.
Two presidential hopefuls, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and former minister William Ruto, face trial in the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity over the post-election killings, charges they deny.
