This timeline documents key dates and events in Kenya's 2013 general election process, from campaign initiation through the Supreme Court petition outcome.
Pre-Election Phase
December 2012: Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto announce their joint presidential and running mate candidacy, forming the Jubilee Coalition. Raila Odinga formally declares his 2013 presidential candidacy under the CORD (Coalition for Reforms and Democracy) banner.
January 2013: Campaign season formally begins. Jubilee and CORD coalitions conduct campaign rallies, media outreach, and constituency-level mobilization. The ICC factor features prominently in campaign messaging, with candidates debating implications of international criminal charges.
February 2-3, 2013: IEBC conducts voter registration completion across Kenya, with registration centers closing nationwide. The biometric voter registration system operates during final days before closure, with varying degrees of success across regions.
February 15, 2013: All major coalition candidates conduct final campaign rallies in major urban centers. Uhuru and Raila address massive rally crowds in Nairobi, with media coverage emphasizing campaign intensity and voter enthusiasm.
March 2-3, 2013: Final campaign day activities. Candidates conduct last-minute campaign appearances and radio interviews. Security forces increase deployment across the country in anticipation of election day.
Election and Counting
March 4, 2013: General Election Day. Voters across Kenya simultaneously conduct presidential, parliamentary, senatorial, gubernatorial, and county assembly elections. Overall turnout reaches approximately 85%, indicating substantial voter participation. Polling station procedures generally proceed without major incidents, though some locations experience organizational challenges or technical difficulties with biometric equipment.
March 4-8, 2013: Result tabulation proceeds across the country. IEBC receives results from polling stations via electronic transmission (where functioning) and physical hardcopy results. Tallying centers in each county aggregate results and transmit to the national tallying center. The electronic result transmission system experiences operational challenges and connectivity failures in some regions, slowing the aggregation process.
March 8, 2013: IEBC chairman Isaack Hassan makes preliminary result announcements indicating that Uhuru Kenyatta is leading in vote totals. The preliminary announcement creates political tension as both coalitions claim overall victory based on different interpretations of available data.
Results Announcement and Petition
March 9, 2013: IEBC officially announces final results. Uhuru Kenyatta wins with 50.07% of votes (6,331,295 of 12,637,762 valid votes), just exceeding the 50% threshold required to avoid a runoff. Raila Odinga finishes second with 43.31% (5,465,745 votes). The razor-thin margin triggers speculation regarding a potential runoff, but Uhuru's margin exceeds 50%, technically eliminating the runoff requirement.
March 12, 2013: Raila Odinga and the CORD coalition file a petition with the Supreme Court of Kenya challenging the election results. The petition alleges widespread irregularities, statistical impossibilities in result distribution, and procedural violations by the IEBC. The petition requests either result annulment or a court-supervised recount.
Court Challenge
March 14-28, 2013: The Supreme Court conducts hearings on Raila's petition. Proceedings are televised and extensively covered by media. Raila's legal team presents evidence of alleged irregularities, including claims of unauthorized electronic system access and statistical improbabilities in result distribution. The IEBC defends the results, arguing that while procedural irregularities occurred, they were insufficient to affect the outcome materially. Jubilee coalition intervenes to defend the results.
March 30, 2013: The Supreme Court issues a unanimous judgment dismissing Raila's petition. All five justices agree that the petition lacks compelling evidence of fraud and that the IEBC's processes, while imperfect, did not vitiate the election results. The court upholds Uhuru Kenyatta's victory.
Post-Election
April 9, 2013: Uhuru Kenyatta is inaugurated as President of Kenya. William Ruto is sworn in as Vice President. The inaugural ceremony is attended by international dignitaries and observers. Uhuru's inaugural address emphasizes national unity, development priorities, and commitment to addressing ICC charges.
June-December 2013: The new Jubilee government takes office. County governments become operational as devolution enters its implementation phase. The government begins pursuing infrastructure development projects and macroeconomic stabilization policies.
See Also
2013 Election 2013 Election Results 2013 Election Supreme Court Petition 2013 Election ICC Factor 2013 Election Uhuru Campaign 2013 Election IEBC
Sources
- Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. (2013). 2013 General Elections Timeline and Results. Retrieved from https://www.iebc.or.ke/
- Supreme Court of Kenya. (2013). Raila Odinga v. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission: Petition Timeline. Retrieved from https://www.courts.go.ke/
- International Crisis Group. (2013). Kenya's 2013 Election: Timeline and Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.crisisgroup.org/