The presidential election saw Uhuru Kenyatta of the National Alliance (TNA) defeat Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).

Incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was ineligible to pursue a third term due to the two-term limit established in Clause 142 of the Constitution of Kenya.

[5] On 28 December 2012, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission announced the Notice of General Elections which confirmed polling day as 4 March.

[8][9] Problems were reported during the first few days of the registration exercise included availability of electricity, military operations in some areas and logistical challenges caused by rains.

[10] Another subsequent challenge was the inability to register prospective voters who were still awaiting issuance of their formal identity documents by the government.

[11] On 27 November, the government announced that, due to time and logistics constraints, there would be no attempts to register Kenyan voters in the diaspora.

This resulted in several publicised discussions among key political players and their respective parties who aimed to form pre-election coalitions prior to the deadline.

[42] The committee had seven days to complete the arbitration process with those dissatisfied with the tribunal's decision asked to lodge their cases with the High Court.

[45] Minister of Internal Security George Saitoti, second hand man to both Daniel Arap Moi and incumbent President Mwai Kibaki, was expected to be a candidate but died in June 2012 in a helicopter crash.

His mixed Masai and Kikuyu heritage was seen as important in light of the violence that followed the 2007 presidential election and the tendency in Kenyan politics for ethnic-based alliances.

Those who stepped down in favour of Raila Odinga included Cyrus Jirongo, Moses Wetangula, Sylvester Wakoli Bifwoli and Kalonzo Musyoka, who became his running mate.

On 24 January 2013 the IEBC begun collecting the initial batch of documents to be used for processing the names of presidential candidates who would contest the elections.

Candidate were required to present a letter expressing intention to contest the presidency and lists of 2,000 signatures from supporters in more than half of the 47 counties.

[67] A court case was filed seeking to restrain the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission from accepting the nomination of any candidate who has been committed to trial for serious criminal charges under the Kenyan and International law.

[71] On 22 January 2013 High Court Judge David Majanja ruled that three integrity cases filed against presidential candidates and their deputies would be heard jointly.

[72] On 25 January 2013 Chief Justice Willy Mutunga appointed five judges to hear the three cases jointly; Mbogholi Msagha, Luka Kimaru, Hellen Omondi, George Kimondo and Pauline Nyamweya.

The second media sponsored debate was held on 25 February 2013 at the Brookhouse International School and was moderated by Joe Ageyo and Uduak Amimo.

The Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) also held a debate which received low publicity and participation of some of the candidates.

[83] During the campaign Odinga caused as stir when he implied that Kenyatta was among those in possession of huge tracts of land across the country and could therefore not reform the sector.

[86] Kibunja was contradicted by Constitution Implementation Commission (CIC) chairman Charles Nyachae who said candidates should not be prevented from discussing land issues during their campaigns.

[90] During and in the aftermath of the political party nominations held between 17 and 18 January 2013 unrest was seen in several parts of the country most notably in Nairobi, Nyanza and Central Provinces[39][40] The 2013 elections were largely peaceful, other than an incident in the early hours of 4 March just before polls opened, when a gang killed at least six police officers in the region of Changamwe, Mombasa.

The authorities immediately blamed the Mombasa Republican Council (a fringe separatist group that had opposed the elections and believes that Kenya's coastal zone should be a separate country) and arrested some of its members over the incident.