Kenyan president vows to hand over power if defeated

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has vowed to hand over power peacefully should he be defeated in the upcoming elections.

Kenya is due to hold its general election on August 8, with President Uhuru seeking a second and final term.

In a Q&A session he conducted on Facebook, the

55-year-old gave assurances that he would hand over power should he

lose, but made it clear that his main opponent Raila Odinga had to

defeat him first.

“Raila has to defeat me first, but I

intend to defeat him,” a smiling Uhuru said.“If the will of the people

is that another should be given the opportunity to continue, I will do

everything in my power to ensure a smooth transition.”

The presidential race has attracted a total of eight

candidates, though pollsters predict a tight race between President

Uhuru and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

This is

Odinga's fourth time running for president, coming closest in 2007,

when he and many observers maintained that he secured the most votes

even as Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner.

The East African country has a population of about 46 million people, with more than 19.6 million registered voters.

The

president of Kenya is elected through a two-round system. For a

candidate to win in the first round, they are required to obtain a 50% +

1 votes, as well as 25% of the votes in at least 24 of the 47 counties.