Marende calls for restraint in hunt for votes

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Kenya National Assembly Speaker, Mr Kenneth Marende. Photo/FILE 

By NATION REPORTERS
Posted  Tuesday, July 31  2012 at  23:30

Presidential aspirants have been urged to tone down their campaigns and focus on ensuring peaceful and credible elections.

There was already too much exuberance in the campaigns although the election was seven months away, said National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende.

He said some aspirants had not even been nominated by their parties yet they were already campaigning.

“When you compare Kenya to the US, which is three months to the election, you wonder what’s wrong with our country because the campaign tempo is much higher here.

“I urge all aspirants to tone down their campaigns and concentrate on passing Bills that are crucial to a credible election,” he said and reminded the politicians that the Election Campaign Financing Bill 2012 was pending in Parliament.

Mr Marende was speaking on Monday at the Windsor Golf and Country Hotel in Nairobi at the official opening of a symposium to review curriculum for the new Centre for Parliamentary Studies and Training.

The centre will offer training to MPs and National Assembly staff due to the high turnover of legislators after each election and improve leadership and democratic ideals among parliamentarians.