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Kenya's main opposition leader cleared to run for presidency as campaigns officially kick off

Kenya

Kenyan opposition politician Raila Odinga and his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka on Sunday (May 28) presented their election documents to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) ahead of the presidential election in August.

Odinga, who comes from one of Kenya’s most powerful political families, will try to unseat President Uhuru Kenyatta, the wealthy son of the country’s first president and head of the ruling Jubilee party, who is seeking a second term.

It is Odinga’s fourth time as a presidential candidate. The veteran politician was nominated by a group of other leaders who also had presidential ambitions and came together to form the National Super Alliance, known by its acronym NASA.

Kenyans go to the polls on August 8 to elect a president, lawmakers and local officials. Devolution means that many of the local races to control lucrative county budgets are expected to be closely fought.

The last elections in 2013 were largely peaceful but the country is still haunted by the two months of violence that followed the disputed 2007 presidential poll, when political protests rapidly spilled into ethnic bloodletting. More than 1,200 people were killed and 600,000 fled their homes.

Reuters

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