High-stakes election in Kenya

As Kenya’s 14m voters prepare to go to the polls on March 4, the stakes could not be higher. Many fear the country could see a repeat of the violence that left 1,100 people dead and 660,000 displaced following the 2007 elections. The two main challengers – Raila Odinga, prime minister, and Uhuru Kenyatta, deputy prime minister – are neck and neck in the latest opinion polls.

In this audio slideshow, Katrina Manson, east Africa correspondent, explains why so much is riding on these polls – the country’s most complicated and ambitious to date, and the first to take place under the new 2010 constitution.