Presidential Debate set for Monday postponed

The Presidential Debate Steering Committee has announced a postponement of the first presidential debate scheduled for Monday, July 10 to July 24.

In a statement to the press, the committee indicated that the move was to allow consultations with the various campaign teams as well as give time for briefing sessions on the debate format and other logistical details.

The committee was, however, keen to note that the running mates debate would run as scheduled on July 17.

This comes just hours after the High Court sitting in Mombasa dismissed the petition by Abduba Dida seeking to stop presidential debates over claims of exclusion citing lack of merit.

In his ruling, Justice John Mativo, pointed out that the debate organizers had not discriminated against any of the 8 presidential candidates and that they would not suffer any prejudice, if the guidelines published by the organizers were enforced.

The debate that was set to take place at the Catholic University auditorium categorized the candidates into two, for separate debates that will be held on the same day.

Those who attain 5% or less in a popularity opinion poll will participate in the first debate, while those who attain over 5% will take part in the second debate.

This according to the organizers, will enhance quality of debate.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga have since declined to take part in the debates until certain issues on the planning and format of the sessions were addressed.

The Debates Media Limited is however consulting all the candidates and stakeholders to address the concerns raised by the two presidential contenders and has assured Kenyans of a robust, candid and professionally managed debates, that will help the electorate make informed choices at the ballot in 31 days.