The 22.1 million voters will vote six times to determine the political future of this country considered a democratic island in an unstable region, but which was also the scene of serious violence fifteen years ago.
The duel promises to be tight between the two main candidates for the presidency, figures in the political landscape whose faces have been displayed for months across the country. Raila Odinga, 77, a veteran of the opposition now supported by power, faces William Ruto, 55, vice-president who is a challenger.
Saturday, the last day of the campaign, everyone wanted to show their muscles by holding a final electoral meeting in a stadium in the Kenyan capital, bringing in thousands of supporters, dressed in yellow for the Ruto camp and blue for the Odinga side.
If neither of the two opponents, who know each other well for having been allies in the past, obtains more than 50% of the vote on Tuesday, Kenya will experience a second round in a presidential election for the very first time.
Whatever the outcome, the new president will mark history by not belonging to the Kikuyu community, the first in the country, which has controlled the summit of the state for twenty years and from which the outgoing Uhuru Kenyatta comes - that the Constitution prevented re-election after two terms.
On Tuesday, voters registered in some 46,000 polling stations - open between 6:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. local time (03:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. GMT) - must decide between a Luo, Mr. Odinga, and a Kalenjin, Mr. Ruto, two other important communities in the country.
- Specter of violence -
In this country historically marked by the tribal vote, some experts believe that this factor could fade this year in the face of economic challenges, as the soaring cost of living dominates people's minds.
The pandemic, then the war in Ukraine, have hit this regional economic engine hard, which despite dynamic growth (7.5% in 2021) remains highly corrupt and unequal - three out of ten Kenyans live on less than $1.90 a day according to the World Bank.
"We want jobs, jobs, jobs," insisted Saturday at the meeting of Mr. Ruto Grace Kawira, a 32-year-old day laborer who cleans houses and washes clothes. "Anything that pays. But it's not every day. We're just surviving."
William Ruto, who sets himself up as a defender of "resourceful", hammered home his ambition this weekend to "reduce the cost of living". Almost at the same time, Mr Odinga promised to make Kenya "a dynamic and global economy", made up of a single "great tribe".
Historically, the ethnic component has fueled electoral conflicts, as in 2007-2008 when Mr. Odinga's contestation of the results led to inter-community clashes killing more than 1,100 people. Fifteen years have passed since this violence but their specter continues to hover.
In 2017, dozens of people died in the crackdown on protests, after Mr Odinga again challenged the results of the vote - ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court in a landmark ruling.
"Kenya votes, East Africa holds its breath," headlined The East African on Saturday, pointing to its key role in regional trade.
But the respected weekly added that "Kenya has made great strides in its democratic evolution, and is in fact regarded as a mature democracy by regional standards."
- Alanguie capital -
Apart from rare incidents and an impressive flow of disinformation on social networks, the campaign was peaceful and the two favorites called for calm. Some 150,000 officers must however be deployed across the country.
On Monday, life was running its normal course in Nairobi, even if the dynamics of the capital seemed somewhat languid, due in particular to the closure of schools and the departure of many voters to their regions of origin.
Diplomatic sources told AFP they were hopeful that calm would prevail on Tuesday but insisted on possible tensions in the days following the vote, in this country marked by suspicion of fraud.
The Electoral Commission, under extreme pressure and which had to cancel four local elections on Monday due in particular to problems printing the ballots, has until August 16 to declare the results.
