UK election: a global perspective

The BBC's Joseph Warungu has covered election campaigns in Kenya, Tanzania and in the US, including the 2008 campaign when he saw Barack Obama become America's first black president.

In the lead-up to the election he will be offering his personal perspective on how British elections compare.

The media:

One issue very close to Joseph's heart is the media's coverage of the campaign.

Sleaze:

As the campaign enters its fourth week, Joseph looks at one of the key issues that has angered UK voters: sleaze.

First past the post:

The UK electoral system is known as first past the post, where voters choose their local member of parliament rather than the prime minister.

Nearly three out of five constituencies are known as safe seats, where one party is almost certain to win, so what options does it give for those who want to vote for an alternative?

Joseph's report starts in Witney, the constituency of the Conservative party leader David Cameron.

Choosing the date:

British constitutional protocol requires the prime minister to formerly request the dissolution of Parliament from the Queen at Buckingham Palace

On 6 April the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, announced that the UK general election will take place a month later.

Joseph looks at how the date is set.

First broadcast 6, 18, 26 April and 3 May 2010