NASA, Jubilee scramble for venues ahead of campaigns deadline

Political parties have lined up a series of rallies to make a final pitch to voters with only five days left to the official end of the campaign period.

According to the chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Wafula Chebukati, August 6 is the final day for official campaigns.

The approaching deadline has generated jostling for rally venues between President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee and Raila Odinga's National Super Alliance (NASA).

This saw NASA, which was scheduled to hold a rally at Gusii Stadium in Kisii today, postpone it to tomorrow after it emerged that Jubilee had also booked the venue.

NASA leaders were to hold a rally at Gusii grounds before proceeding to Kapkatet in Kericho and Suswa in Narok on Tuesday.

Uhuru and Ruto will be returning to Kisii today, where they have held rallies at least twice since last year.

Sunday, the last day for campaigning, will see Jubilee and NASA hold major rallies in Nairobi. NASA will hold its final campaign rally at Uhuru Park grounds while Jubilee has settled for Nyayo Stadium, just about a kilometre away.

Apart from Uhuru Park, NASA has also secured Kamukunji, Masinde Muliro, Racecourse, and Joseph Kang'ethe grounds for NASA rallies in the last seven days to elections.

Jubilee Party Vice Chairman David Murathe announced that giant television screens would be mounted in key towns across the country to transmit Uhuru's final rally.

"We want to reach all Kenyans on this final day," he said. [Protus Onyango]