Who Is Kenya Going To Select For Its Next PM?
-
Roshan Amiri
- . August 9, 2022
- . Update: August 9, 2022 7:27 pm
Kenya– Kenya is looking forward to some new leadership, but it is not going to be an easy decision to make for the country. The desire and enthusiasm to vote for a change could be seen as voters queued as early as 2 am in the morning to cast their ballot.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is the outgoing leader who is now preparing the stage for a power handover to a new leader. There are some eager 22 million voters casting their vote this election cycle.
There are chances of the election running into a run-off as all the candidates are vying for the top position but need to ensure to achieve a 51 percent majority. None seem to be achieving that at the moment.
There are two solid contenders right now for the top post- deputy president William Ruto (55) and veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga (77). While Odinga is a businessman and politician who served as prime minister of Kenya for five years, Ruto, a former teacher.
Related Posts
The latter has somehow adopted a populist ‘man-of-the-people’ approach, designed to capture Kenya’s largest voting bloc — the youth. He holds a doctorate in Plant Ecology from the University of Nairobi, while Odinga is part of Kenya’s political dynasty. Politics runs in his blood as his father Jaramogi Oginga Odinga was the first vice president of independent Kenya.
Odinga had to quit from being a PM following the disputed presidential election of December 2007 that resulted in widespread protests and violence, leaving more than 1,000 people dead.
So, there is a lot in the background for these two prominent candidates. Although the election would bring about a change of administration, Ruto and Odinga’s affiliation with the present government does not necessarily provide a new political phenomenon, feel political analysts.
