Lanka's envoy in high profile observer team for Kenya's polls

Businessman and diplomat Velupillai Kana Kananathan, our man in Nairobi is going places, well he's not going anywhere, but he has been selected to be a member of an elite group of former Presidents and other high profile African and European persons as an Election Observer at the forthcoming general elections in Kenya next week.

Kenya's general election is scheduled for Tuesday (August 9) and ambassador Kananathan joins the team that includes former Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome, former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, former Burundi President General Evariste Ndayishimiye, former Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Ko ro m a , and former

Mozambique Pre s i d e n t Joaquim Chissano.

Apart from these former Presidents are former Prime Minister of Jamaica Bruce Golding, the head of the African Union Election Observer Mission Ellen Dingani, and head of the European Union Election Observer Mission Ivan Stefanec.

One of the key points of the Kenyan general election is that the people will vote for their President, members of the National Assembly, the Senate, the County Governors and members of the 47 County Assemblies on the same day. Unlike in Sri Lanka, the Kenyan election will eliminate the additional expenditure in having separate elections for a President, MPs, provincial councils and local government councillors.

A notable feature of the Kenyan electoral system is that the election date is fixed for a second Tuesday in August every five years. Elections don't suddenly crop up due to a Presidential whim or an Opposition demand.

And a still more remarkable aspect of the Kenyan model is that a Presidential candidate must have a degree from a recognised university. One prospective candidate this year was eliminated after his degree was found to be from an institution not recognised by law. To be an MP one needs A/ Level qualifications and a basic degree to be a Minister as well.

Sitting President Uhuru Kenyatta is not eligible to contest a third term. It is the same for County Governors.

Like in Sri Lanka, Kenyan politics has long been dominated by families, but it can change with this election with the advent of new players in the field.