Kibaki rules out early election in Kenya - media

Kibaki rules out early election in Kenya - media
Written by Reuters
Friday, March 27, 2009 6:08:20 AM

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has ruled out bringing forward the next election after calls from some quarters for a snap poll due to the poor performance of his unity government, local media said on Thursday.

Kibaki and his Prime Minister Raila Odinga -- who formed a coalition a year ago to end violence after the disputed December 27, 2007, election -- have faced a tide of criticism from Kenyans, including some calls for a new election.

But the 77-year-old president, on a visit to western Kenya, ruled out bringing forward the next presidential poll from 2012.

"We just held elections recently. We will have to wait for four years. Do not expect it now or tomorrow," he said, according to the local newspaper, The Standard.

Kibaki and Odinga's alliance stemmed a national crisis in the first months of 2008 that killed at least 1,300 people, displaced more than 300,000 and crippled important sectors of the economy like tourism and agriculture.

Critics say, however, that they have failed since then to rein in corruption, stop police brutality, push forward political reforms or counter economic hardships being felt around the east African nation of 35 million people.