NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 26 — Australian High Commissioner to Kenya, Luke Williams, has said Canberra has no preferred presidential candidate in the upcoming State House contest slated for August 9.
He told Capital News in an exclusive interview on Wednesday that Australia will work with whichever leader the Kenyan people elect.
Williams said peace and respect for democracy is critical even as he mentioned that Australia will similarly head to the ballot in May.
“So, we are similarly interested in seeing our respective electoral processes succeed. Kenya is a bedrock of democratic institutions here in East Africa and we are all very keen to watch how the elections unfold and see results which everyone accepts and welcomes and then we can move forward,” said Williams.
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson Wafula Chebukati has already gazetted the election date setting in motion critical activities including party primaries.
Chebukati announced that the official campaign period will kick off on May 29.
He further pointed out that political parties intending to present a candidate in the presidential election shall also submit the names of persons contesting in party primaries, “the date and venues of the primaries on the same date being 21 days before the nomination day.”
Williams pointed out that Australia regards Kenya as a friend and a partner and will continue working closely in enhancing bilateral ties to ensure threats such as terrorism, piracy and drug trafficking are eradicated.
“We help contribute to United Nations peace keeping, we help out in our respective regional security forums and we contribute to a lot of different activities which are happening multilaterally and regionally to help combat these threats,” he said.
“We both know what those threats are and hence Australia and Kenya are collaborating and are very much partners and we want to collaborate and cooperate more,” the envoy added.
In terms of trade, William said Australia will continue to invest in Kenya to boost existing trade ties.
Australia and Kenya have over time built strong relations through trade, agriculture, counterterrorism and education.
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