Kenya’s ‘big 2’ refuse to debate with minnows

KENYA’S President Uhuru Kenyatta and his main rival Raila Odinga have pulled out of two televised presidential debates ahead of the August 8 elections.

Initially, the two front-runners were to go head-to-head in one debate on Monday while six smaller candidates were hold a separate match, with a second debate scheduled for July 24.

However, officials in both parties said Kenyatta and Odinga decided to pull out after they got wind of plans to change the format, pitting all eight candidates against each other in one event.

“President Uhuru Kenyatta will not participate in the presidential debates,” David Murathe, vice-chairman of the ruling Jubilee Party said.

A party official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Jubilee had a problem with the president debating alongside “small” candidates.

“We cannot subject the president to such kind of debate,” the official said.

Odinga’s team also said he would not take part due to the new format.

“How do you really get into the meat of things in just two minutes each? It would be impossible to have a substantive debate,” said Odinga’s top adviser Salim Lone.

Kenya held its first-ever televised presidential debate in 2013, featuring Kenyatta and Odinga.

Afterwards, Kenyatta complained he had been unfairly targeted by moderators.

Kenyans go to the polls next month in national elections, choosing from 14 500 candidates contesting in a series of races for president, governor, parliament and county assembly seats.

The vote comes a decade after the worst electoral clashes in Kenyan history, when more than 1 100 people were killed in politically motivated ethnic violence.

The presidential race is predicted to be close, with Odinga heading an unprecedented opposition alliance.

The election could swing either way, with five million new voters among the 19 million registered compared to the 2013 presidential polls. — AFP