Kenyan Election Night Special: Will the elections lead to change?
Tuesday, 9 August 2022
12pm Washington D.C. 5pm London / Kinshasa 6pm Paris / Cape Town / Cairo 7pm NairobiAdd to calendar: Google | Outlook | YahooKenyans go to the polls on August 9 to elect a new set of leaders, from the president all the way down to county assembly members. The presidential race is a neck-and-neck contest between Raila Odinga and William Ruto. Despite the closeness of the race and the personal rivalry between the main players, however, many Kenyans are questioning whether the election will actually change anything, regardless of who ultimately wins. A recent high profile spat, involving the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, has also raised public concern about election rigging. All of these elements have led to worries that election turnout will be low, especially among youth voters.
This Election Night Special Broadcast will take place live from the capital Nairobi – a first for the Resistance Bureau – and will bring together a high-powered panel of intellectuals, journalists, and activists to seek answers to some critical questions. Will the election outcome impact the major challenges facing Kenya today, from corruption and debt to inequality and access to basic resources? Does an election in which the focus has largely been on economic issues, rather than ethnicity, represent an important political turning point? And what will be the impact be on Kenya’s democracy and political stability moving forward?
Join us on August 9 at 7PM local time to find out!