Over 185,000 members of the Kenyan security forces and police officers will do their best to protect Kenyan election 2017 from election violence which has historically dogged polls in the country.
On Tuesday, August 8, 2017, Kenyans will vote in a keenly contested presidential election as the incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta competes against the leader of the opposition Raila Odinga.
Recent pre-election polls indicate that none of the candidates has a clear lead.
Kenya has witnessed a build-up of violence as the election day approached. These include the brutal murder of a high-profile member of the electoral commission.
A senior Kenyan election official, Chris Msando, was found murdered on Monday, July 31, 2017 three days after he went missing, the election board informed journalists.
Msando was the electoral body’s head of information, communication and technology. He was tortured before he was killed.
On Sunday, President Kenyatta called for calm, peaceful, and fair elections.
“We must not allow anything driving a wedge between us. I wish all ethnic groups would be good neighbors regardless political affiliation or religion,” Kenyatta declared.
Community leaders, human rights officials, and prominent politicians keep on calling on voters to stay calm, preserve a diplomatic environment, and control emotions when the results are officially announced.
International observers say that Kenyan election 2017 will be the last confrontation of a dynastic conflict between the families of Odinga and Kenyatta. The rivalry has been lasting for over 50 years.
The opposition veteran Odinga will try to become the head of Kenya for the fourth time. He continues saying that 2007 and 2013 elections were stolen from him. Kenyatta is making a run for a second term.
