The Kenyan presidential aspirants made history on February 11, 2013 by agreeing to a public debate that was broadcast live across the country. The presidential debate is a good starting point for Kenyans to realize that the courage to face pertinent issues and challenges that confronts the country is a great step forward.

Kenyans face one of the most complicated and crucial election season. Kenya's new constitutional dispensation that restructures administrative units into 47 counties comes into effect after March 4, 2013. An estimated 14 million registered voters are expected to elect a president, governors, members of parliament and county representatives. We applaud the bold steps taken by Kenya's media fraternity to hold the first ever presidential debate in which presidential candidates largely conducted themselves with decorum. 

The debate, far from providing a public forum for discussing salient political issues and highlighting candidates' respective stances on crucial matters also allowed the public to learn more about the candidates, a key ingredient to making informed decisions at the ballot box. 

From the debate, it clearly emerged that the aspirants agree on the socio-political and economic challenges that face the country and that combating these is key to catapulting the country to prosperity. Kenyans of all goodwill should concentrate on combating these issues with proven and sound economic methods instead of harping on the ethnic card which will only serve to sidetrack the country from taking its rightful place in regional and global affairs.