Kenya elections: 'We are getting first shot for women to compete'

As Kenyans queue to vote in general elections on Tuesday, deputy presidential candidate Martha Karua made history by being the first woman to contend for such high office — and having a real chance to make it.

Karua, who is running on presidential candidate and former prime minister Raila Odinga's ticket, in her final campaign pledge said she was standing “in this place for the women of Kenya to ensure their contribution and to ensure that their views, their perspectives, are taken into consideration when deciding the important matters of this nation”.

The advocate, also a former MP and minister of justice, painted herself as an ordinary woman and mother who “will not forget the needs of her children”.

Odinga, who is running as president for a fifth time, announced Karua as his running mate in May, and her candidacy is considered to be significant in a country where women candidates and aspiring candidates have faced physical violence.

Karua previously competed against Odinga when she ran for president in 2013, but she wasn't considered a significant candidate in what was a two-horse race between Odinga and incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta.

Kenyatta, who has stepped down in line with the constitution after completing his second term, has endorsed former foe Odinga as successor.

Karua's director of communications, Diana Ngao, in an interview with TimesLIVE pointed out that despite a constitutional requirement that no more than two-thirds of representatives in parliament should be from the same gender, this has never been enforced.

“Parliament was supposed to be suspended over that but it did not happen.”

She has previously praised Odinga for his commitment to gender equality and his compliance with the constitution in this regard.

In the last opinion poll by the TIFA on July 28, Odinga and Karua's Azimio La Umoja alliance was leading with 47% of polled support against deputy president William Ruto and Rigathi Gachagua's Kenya Kwanzaa alliance's 42%. 

Ironically, more women support Ruto's ticket (46%), which features two men, than that of Odinga (42%), according to the TIFA poll, while 51% of men surveyed said they supported Odinga's ticket, vs Ruto's 43%.

Ruto also enjoys a small advantage among younger voters.

We are getting this first shot [for a woman to compete] and she is the best of the best. We've got a woman who truly represents what the country needs, who is strong, vocal and courageous.

Though Odinga enjoyed louder cheers during the pair's final elections rally in Nairobi on Saturday, a number of rallygoers said they believed the 64-year-old would get a lot more done in government than Odinga, who is 13 years her senior.

Karua's deputy director of communications Daisy Maritim Maina said Karua's virtues extend far beyond her gender. “We are getting this first shot [for a woman to compete] and she is the best of the best. We've got a woman who truly represents what the country needs, who is strong, vocal and courageous,” she told TimesLIVE.

Polling stations across the country opened at 5am SA time to Kenya's more than 22-million registered voters.

Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission chairperson Wafula Chebukati said in a press conference on Monday it had fired seven officials for holding meetings with politicians.

The commission's credibility was called into question in the past when, in 2017, the results were annulled by Kenya's supreme court because the polls were “neither transparent nor verifiable”.

Kenyans have until 6pm SA time to choose a new president, senate, members of the national assembly, governors, and members of the county assembly.

SA international relations and co-operation minister Naledi Pandor on Monday wished Kenyans all the best for their elections.

Welcoming US secretary of state Antony Blinken to the University of Pretoria for his lecture, she said: “We hope that they [Kenyans] will have an election that is found to be free and fair at the conclusion of the count of the vote.” 

TimesLIVE