Kenya warned not to postpone poll

Kenyans say their president has too much power

The United States and Britain say they have urged Kenya to go the polls this year on schedule and shelve plans by the ruling party Kanu to delay the elections untill December 2003.

"People have a right to vote every five years... People cannot give up that franchise and parliament cannot take it away from them.

British High Commission

The call comes in the wake of sharp criticisms by Kenya's opposition who see the proposed delay as a ploy to prolong President Daniel arap Moi's rule.

The Kenyan government says it wants to give more time to a commission writing a new constitution to finish its work and allow the elections to be held under the new constitution.

Under the current constitution, President Moi - one of Africa's longest presidents - is barred from standing and is required by law to hold the elections by the end of 2002.

'Worst fears'

"We are concerned that a delay in Kenya's election timetable could create uncertainty and a bad precedent for democratic reform in the region," said a US embassy statement issued in Nairobi on Thursday.

Noting that President Moi has previously indicated he wanted the east African country to hold the polls on schedule, the embassy said:

"We continue to believe that this is the best course to follow."

For its part, the British High Commission said Britain would not "sit quietly" if it appeared Kanu was serious about its plan and not merely floating the proposal to test reaction.

"The ruling party are provoking our worst fears," High Commission spokesman Mark Norton said.

The constitutiion review commission is under pressure to deliver a new constitution

"We still want the elections held this year.

"We will not sit quietly if there is a serious proposal to amend the constitution."

Correspondents and diplomats in Nairobi say it is not clear whether Kanu merely wanted to extend parliament's life up to its theoretical limit under the current constitution - which some experts say is May 2003 - or wanted to enact a constitutional change to prolong the assembly, which would normally dissolve in the first few weeks of 2003.

"It's something we think is dishonest - to use the constitution to extend the parliament," Mr Norton said.

"People have a right to vote every five years.

"People cannot give up that franchise and parliament cannot take it away from them."

Religious leaders

Away from diplomatic circles, leading Kenyan oppositon MPs say they have been collecting signatures from their colleagues in a bid to vote out the move to extend the life of the current parliament.

They have vowed to cause civil unrest if Kanu pushes ahead with the move.

"We want to give Kenyans confidence that we can beat Kanu in this game," Opposition MP Mwangi Kinunjiru told Kenya's daily, The Daily Nation, in Nairobi.

Political horsetrading could help Moi extend his rule

The opposition says it had collected 46 signatures by Wednesday and needs 80 MPs on their side to deny the Kanu party a two-thirds majority it requires in parliament to pass the proposal.

Religious leaders have also thrown their weight behind the opposition.

They say they have asked Kenyans to resist the ruling party's plans.

Correspondents say Kenyans want the new constitution in place before elections because they feel the current one favours the ruling party Kanu by giving the president too much powers.

But at the same time most do not want the elections postponed, they say.