Concern over health of main opposition presidential contender

Concern over the health of Kenya's main opposition candidate in this month's presidential elections has cast a cloud over the opposition's chances of winning the poll, regional analysts said on Thursday.

Mwai Kibaki, who is the presidential flagbearer for the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) - a loose alliance of 13 opposition parties - was on Tuesday injured in a road accident, in which he fractured an arm and sprained an ankle. His vehicle reportedly lost control and crashed into a ditch, as his driver tried to avoid two vehicles that had moments earlier collided into each other.

Kibaki was returning from a campaign trip in eastern Kenya when the accident occurred. Members of NARC have ruled out any foul play.

Kibaki was flown to London on Wednesday night for further medical tests. But his personal doctor Dan Gikonyo has stressed the former vice-president's life is not in danger.

He said the team of doctors who examined 71-year-old Kibaki at the Nairobi Hospital had decided to send him to London "just to make sure that all we have done has held well, and to ensure we have another opinion that all is well".

Kibaki is a leading contender to win the election, scheduled for 27 December, which will mark the end of President Daniel arap Moi's 24-year rule.

Analysts say it will be difficult for NARC to find a suitable compromise candidate in the ethnically sensitive coalition, who could successfully replace Kibaki should his health prevent him from pursuing the presidential post.

"Kibaki is a wonderful compromise. He is liked by many people, and is innoffensive to anyone," political commentator John Githongo told IRIN. "It is difficult to come up with such a compromise. Without him, things might become very complicated."

Meanwhile, President Moi's son, Gideon, has become the first contender to be confirmed as a member of parliament without contesting the election, after his only challenger stepped down.

The Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), the body charged with conducting and supervising the polls, on Wednesday declared Gideon the winner of Baringo Central, a constituency which his father has represented since independence in 1963.