Kenyans allowed to ask questions during presidential debate - secretariat

Kenyans will have an opportunity to ask candidates questions during the forthcoming presidential and deputy presidential debates.

Though the exact dates for the debates are yet to be released, the exercise is expected to take place in July.

The Kenya Editors’ Guild on Thursday reaffirmed that the debates will be credible noting that all candidates will receive fair and equal coverage to allow them to share their manifestos with Kenyans.

The presidential debate secretariat is a joint partnership between the media owners of Kenya, the Kenya Editors’ Guild, and the Media Council of Kenya.

The Secretariat organizes Presidential Debates during election years and has done so over the last 10 years in 2013 and 2017.

The three organizations have come together to bring the 2022 presidential and deputy presidential debate slated for next month ahead of the August 9 polls.

“So far we making good progress and we are confident that the debate will be much better than what we have had in the last two debates,” the media owners association chairman Stephen Kitagama said.

“The debate gives an opportunity to Kenyans to interact and to ask questions. We will create a platform that Kenyans will reach the candidates, Kenyans can ask the questions to the candidates who want to be their next president,” he added.

Kitagama talked during the signing of a partnership with Usawa Agenda which has agreed to support the presidential debate and update Kenyans on the progress being made.

This comes after UDA advised DP William Ruto to withdraw from the presidential debate, alleging media bias.

During the debate, a live audience representing the various sectors of the society will be present and the contenders are expected to sell their agendas.

The KEG president Churchill Otieno said the steering committee of the presidential debate  2022 has put together a panel of editors comprising editors in chief and managing editors from key media houses in Kenya that will be leading the content aspects of the debates.

“As they do that, they stand on very clear pillars of the ethics of journalism in Kenya. Importantly, they are keen to ensure every candidate gets the coverage that they deserve,” Otieno said.

“The interest of our newsrooms is to make sure that we have a professional platform managed by professionals and offered to Kenyans and through which candidates can mount and get the word out.”