Renson Mwakandana
The Kenyan general election on August 9 will be spectated by observers from the African Union (AU).
According to a statement from the African Union Commission dated June 27, “Following an invitation from the Government of the Republic of Kenya to the African Union to observe the forthcoming General Election scheduled for August 9, 2022, the African Union Commission is deploying an international election expert mission to Kenya comprising eight teams’ experts.”
The teams are tasked with evaluating Kenya’s election preparations, political climate, and electoral campaign fairness.
Before, during, and after the elections, the core team will monitor electoral preparations, evaluate political dynamics, as well as the actual competitiveness and fairness of the campaign, and stay in constant touch with national and international stakeholders, according to the AU.
The AU will also deploy a second group of observers a few weeks before the election, followed by a second group of short-term observers a week before the actual election.
Early in May, the East African Community and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa deployed a combined high-level pre-election inspection mission to ensure free, credible elections that would improve Kenya’s democratic process.
