Clinton urges Kenya to hold free, fair elections

Nairobi, 4 Aug – (ANA) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged Kenya to hold free and fair elections and be a role model for Africa, underlining the need to avoid the bloodshed suffered during the last vote five years ago.The general election next March will be the first since a disputed poll in 2007 that set off a politically based ethnic slaughter in which more than 1,200 people were killed. Clinton met President Mwai Kibaki, who is barred by law from seeking a third term, and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who leads in opinion polls in the race to replace him. The two were the main rivals in the disputed presidential poll, when then opposition leader Odinga accused Kibaki of stealing the vote. Gangs faced off with machetes and clubs, and security forces opened fire on the streets, until mediator Kofi Annan brokered a power-sharing pact between Kibaki and Odinga that ended the violence and made Odinga prime minister.  "The United States has pledged to assist the government of Kenya in ensuring that the upcoming elections are free, fair and transparent," Clinton told reporters in Nairobi. (ANA)

FA/ANA/4 August 2012--------