Kenya, one of Africa’s leading economies, will elect a new president on August 9 amid a rise in the cost of living and a crippling drought that will pose challenges to whoever is elected.

All of its previous elections have resulted in either disputes and rigging claims, or outbreaks of deadly violence, or both. Kenyans are hoping that things will be different this time.
Who are the contenders?

Raila Odinga, a four-time failed presidential candidate, is back in the race. The 77-year-old former prime minister is known for being a formidable campaigner.

His main opponent is Deputy President William Ruto, aged 55. On the campaign trail, he has proven to be a match for Mr. Odinga, drawing large crowds.
There are two other names on the ballot that are less well-known.

George Wajackoyah has sparked interest with his proposal to legalize marijuana cultivation and the export of snake venom, whereas David Mwaure Waihiga is running on an anti-corruption platform.
According to the Kenyan constitution, A president is eligible for two consecutive terms of five years each starting from the date the president is sworn in.

In addition to that, To win, a candidate must receive more than half of the votes cast nationally and at least 25% of the votes cast in at least half of the counties. If that threshold is not met, the election will be decided by a second-round run-off between the top two candidates.
Likewise, polls will be open for 12 hours beginning at 6:00 a.m. local time (03:00 GMT) and
officials will begin counting votes at each polling station once the polls close.

However, when the result of the presidential election will be announced is not yet known, but the electoral commission has a maximum of seven days to count and tally the votes.
Furthermore, in Kenya, many votes are cast along ethnic lines, and in previous years, this has sometimes erupted into nationwide violence, with people being attacked and killed based solely on which community they belong to.

The disputed December 2007 election was followed by weeks of ethnic-based violence in which 1,200 people were killed and over 500,000 fled their homes.
Politicians have been keen to emphasize peaceful democratic engagement since then. However, the issue of ethnicity has not gone away.