AU Deploys Mission to Assess Kenya’s Preparation for General Election

ADDIS ABABA – The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has deployed a Pre-election Assessment Mission to Kenya.

The AUC chair authorized the deployment as per the invitation from the Government of Kenya to send its mission to observe the General Elections scheduled for August 9, 2022.

AU sent its team on a five-day pre-election assessment to the East African nation on Monday, May 16.

In a statement today, the pan-African bloc said the Mission “will consider the state of preparedness” for the General Elections, and “assess the overall context in which the polls will take place”.

“It will also engage in consultations and dialogue with key political and electoral stakeholders in Kenya to promote peaceful, credible, and inclusive elections,” the AU added.

The Mission comprises members of the Panel of the Wise, independent electoral experts, and technical staff from the AU Commission.

It is deployed jointly with members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the East African Community (EAC),” said the AU.

This year’s presidential contest is shaping up to be a two-horse race between Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto and Raila Odinga, a former political prisoner and prime minister who has secured Kenyatta’s support.

Voters are due to go to the polls next August but President Uhuru Kenyatta will not be on the ballot due to a constitutional term limit of two, five-year terms.