All is set for the country’s first presidential debate that will be aired live on eight TV and 34 radio stations on Monday next week.
Google will stream the debate online, while international media outlets CNN and Reuters will also cover the event, officials said on Wednesday.
Six presidential aspirants Uhuru Kenyatta, Raila Odinga, Musalia Mudavadi, Martha Karua, Peter Kenneth and James ole Kiyiapi have confirmed they will attend the debate to be held at the auditorium of the Brookhouse International School in Nairobi.
Kenya Presidential Debate 2013
According to the “Presidential Debate 2013” director of operations Francis Munywoki, the event will start at 7.30pm and will last for two hours during which the candidates will answer questions from moderators.
NTV managing editor Linus Kaikai and Julie Gichuru of the Royal Media Services will moderate the debate in the first hour while KTN’s Joe Ageyo and Royal Media’s Uduak Amimo will guide it in the second round.
After the debate, there will be an analysis by experts who will also delve into the ideas espoused by the candidates and put issues in the perspective.
Mr Munywoki said that during the first round of the debate, issues of governance, social services – health and education, security and resource management would be discussed. In the second round, the deliberations will revolve around the economy, land, devolution and foreign policy.
“At 7.30pm on Monday, each of the candidate will walk into the auditorium one by one. They will then shake hands before the National Anthem is played and then be allowed 30 seconds to introduce themselves,” Mr Munywoki said.
Each candidate has been allocated two minutes to answer a question, including clarifications from the moderator.
The organisers of the event have spent Sh100 million to run the presidential debate.
Nation
In the meantime, the public is encouraged to engage in discussions, suggest issues they want discussed and possible questions on the debates’ Twitter account (https://twitter.com/KenyaDebate2013), Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/KenyaDebate2013), send emails to info@presidentialdebate.co.ke or SMS – 2282.
