Sustaining Democratisation Process

As President Uhuru Kenyatta prepares to step down after serving two terms, intense competition has paved the way for unprecedented electoral coalitions and a tight race. While allegations of election fraud are likely and the risk of damaging post-election dispute and violence could once again cast a shadow over Kenya, it remains to be seen if Kenya has learnt any lessons from the recent past and finds itself in a better position to achieve a peaceful and smooth transfer of power.
This would highly depend on the rule the major frontrunners for the presidential job will play. Kenyan Deputy President, William Ruto (the former ally and now adversary of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta) and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga (who has become one of Kenyatta’s closest allies in recent years), are both statesmen who can deliver the goods as outlined in their electoral manifestos. Ruto is running under the slogan “hustler nation” in an attempt to paint himself as an average Kenyan who achieved great success by working his way up the political ladder. Raila Odinga, meanwhile, is a known quantity engaged in his fifth campaign for the presidency after decades of political experience and struggle that saw him visit nearly all the political prison cells in the country.
Though a latest...