TIMELINE: Recent events in Kenya

(Reuters) - Kenyans vote on Thursday in an election that could be the closest in the east African nation's history.

Here is a chronology of Mwai Kibaki's presidency:

December 27, 2002 - Former Vice President Kibaki, candidate of the opposition National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), wins a presidential election on pledges to deliver a new constitution within 100 days.

-- The victory ends Daniel arap Moi's 24-year rule and the Kenya African National Union's (KANU) four decades in power.

January 15, 2003 - Kibaki appoints John Githongo as Kenya's first anti-corruption adviser.

November 22 - International Monetary Fund (IMF) resumes lending after three-year gap, saying the new government has shown commitment to end corruption.

December 21 - Moi is granted immunity from prosecution on corruption charges.

March 15, 2004 - Government withdraws from a conference convened to write a new constitution after most delegates vote to trim presidential powers.

February 7, 2005 - Githongo quits in a damaging development for Kibaki's fight against graft.

July 22 - Parliament votes to keep a strong presidency in a proposed new constitution, the first complete overhaul since independence from Britain in 1963. The vote leads to deepening divisions in the ruling coalition and triggers rioting in the capital.

November 22 - Kibaki suffers humiliating defeat when voters reject the new constitution in a referendum; he fires his government the next day.

December 7 - Kibaki names a new cabinet. The next day, three ministers and 17 assistant ministers reject their appointments.

December 9 - Twenty-six of 29 cabinet ministers are finally sworn in and three refuse to appear. However, two reverse their decision and are sworn in on December 14.

February 1, 2006 - Finance Minister David Mwiraria resigns over a multi-million dollar corruption scandal. He says he is innocent.

June 3 - Key ministers from Kibaki's ruling coalition, including Vice President Moody Awori, break away to form a new party, the National Rainbow Coalition-Kenya (NARC-Kenya).

August 7 - NARC-Kenya wins three out of five parliamentary seats left vacant by the death of five legislators in a plane crash in April.