Kenya nears new Constitution

• President and PM urge Kenyans to vote for proposed new law.

Kenya's Attorney General Amos Wako has published the proposed new Constitution as the country edges towards a new dispensation.

Mr Wako said on Thursday that Kenyans had waited for long to get a new Constitution and the process could not be delayed further.

"The time has come when Kenya needs a new Constitution. There is a tide in Kenya, a tide that is the ushering in of a new constitutional dispensation," he said at a ceremony held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi.

The publishing of the Proposed Kenya Constitution puts Kenya on the brink of a new constitutional dispensation after more than a 20-year wait.

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga urged Kenyans to vote for the document and said those opposed to the new law will have their day to propose amendments after the referendum expected in August.

"This is not a perfect document, but as someone said perfection is only in heaven," said Mr Odinga in reference to those clamouring for amendments before the proposed new law is subjected to a vote.

Big Yes

On his part, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka took issue with a caricature appearing in the media showing him as constantly changing positions on the constitution debate. He said it was an unfair depiction and told Kenyans that he was firmly for a big Yes.

Now that Mr Wako has published the draft, the Committee of Experts will start civic education to inform the public about the document for a period of 30 days.

The Interim Independent Electoral Commission will then have until May 12 to frame and publish the referendum question in consultation with the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution.

On May 26, the IIEC is expected to announce the day on which the referendum is to be held, the polling time (s) and the campaign period.

Kenyans will then go to a referendum to vote for or against the constitution, expected to be on August 6.