Elections in Kenya: Desperate citizens seek change

A large number of young people did not register to vote, according to data from the Election Commission.

Many say they are frustrated by widening inequality and the institutionalized political system dominated by the elite

Reuters

09/08/2022

Tuesday, 09 August 2022, 12:18 Updated: 12:31

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The citizens of Kenya are voting today (Tuesday) in the presidential elections, but many of them are desperate for salvation from rising food prices and rampant corruption and have lost faith that the new government will also provide a solution.

A large number of young people did not register to vote, according to data from the Election Commission.

Many say they are frustrated by widening inequality and the institutionalized political system dominated by the elite.

President Uhuru Kenyatta is retiring after two terms.

The main candidates vying for his seat are 55-year-old William Ruto, the vice president for the past nine years, and Raila Odinga, 77, the veteran opposition leader, who received the support of the outgoing president.

Candidate Odinga (Photo: Reuters)

Kenya is a stable country in a turbulent region in East Africa, it is a close ally of the West and is home to the headquarters of companies such as Google, Visa and others.

In some polling stations in the capital Nairobi, shorter queues were observed than in previous elections.

The voter turnout in the last elections was 80%.

"Kenyans are tired of waking up early in the morning and voting for a government that doesn't care, but we hope the situation will change," Joshua Nyanjoy of Nairobi told Reuters.

Kenyatta led a wave of infrastructure investments, financed mainly by foreign loans that his successors will have to deal with.

According to him, he had no tools to fight corruption.

In addition, Kenya was hit by the increase in food, fuel and fertilizer prices.

Three out of four presidents have come from the country's largest ethnic minority, the Kikuyu.

This time, there is no minority candidate, although both candidates have deputies from the community.

Ruto comes from the large Kalenjin community, and Odinga from the Luo ethnic group, one of the largest in the country, who live mainly in the west of the country.

Raila Odinga, 77 years old, veteran opposition leader (Photo: Reuters)

Ruto has tried to capitalize on the growing public anger of Kenya's poor, saying he plans to set up a fund to provide loans to small businesses.

Odinga, who ran in the previous four elections and lost, promised to deal with corruption and reconcile with the opposition after the elections.

Recent polls from last week showed Odinga leading over Ruto by 6-8%, but Ruto dismissed the polls as fake.

To avoid a second round, a presidential candidate must garner more than 50% of the votes and at least 25% of the votes in half of the country's 47 districts.

Kenya has 22.1 million registered voters.

Results will begin to be released tonight, but an official announcement may come weeks later.

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