Vote will be free, Kibaki promises

President Kibaki on Thursday assured Kenyans that next week’s referendum vote will be conducted in a transparent manner.

The Head of State said the outcome of the vote would reflect the wishes of the majority of Kenyans who were keen to have a new Constitution.

President Kibaki, who was addressing a ‘Yes’ campaign rally at the Muliro grounds in Kakamega, said elaborate measures had been put in place to deal with electoral malpractices during the referendum, including taking disciplinary action against voters who had registered more than once.

The President allayed fears by those in the No’ camp that the Government was out to rig the vote in its favour.

The ‘No’ team led by the Higher Education Minister William Ruto has strongly criticised the use of public servants in the ‘Yes’ campaigns claiming it was part of the Government plan to influence the outcome of the vote.

But President Kibaki said Kenyans had sent a strong signal about their intentions to have a new Constitution which will serve them better in future.

“Safari hii, hatutakuwa na upuzi ule wazamani, au wizi. Tumeendelea saana hakuna wizi aina hiyo. (This time around measures have been taken to guard against cheating and I can assure you everything will be fine),” the president said.

He said he was confident Kenyans would overwhelmingly vote in support of the proposed Constitution at referendum next week.

“Kenyans will have another opportunity to look at the contentious clauses after the referendum and be able to amend the document,” he said.

He said he had fought for a long time to ensure the country got a new Constitution and Kenyans were in the final stage of getting the new set of laws and open a new chapter in the country’s history.

“I have two years before I complete my term in 2012 and I will do everything to ensure Kenyans have a new Constitution,” he said.

The President was accompanied by Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi and cabinet Ministers and MPs from western province.