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gangs yesterday as millions of Kenyans voted in the first presidential election since a disputed 2007 poll unleashed weeks of ethnic bloodshed.
Provisional results for the presidential race began trickling in moments after polls closed at 5pm, but it was too early to predict an outcome.
In votes counted last night, The Nation gave provisional results as follows: Uhuru Kenyatta (TNA) 642 381 (54.13 percent); Raila Odinga (ODM) 456,383 (39.74 percent); Whycliffe Musalia Mudavadi (UDF) 28,622 (2.49 percent); James Ole Kiyiapi (RBK) 4,451; Kenneth (Eagle) 6,015; Martha Karua (Narc Kenya) 4,197; Mohamed Abduda Dida (ARC) 2,465; Paul Muite (Safina) 1,282 from 3,874.
Voting in the tight contest passed off peacefully across most of the East African nation, although many of its 14.3 million voters were caught in long lines.
Election officials said there was a high turnout without giving figures.
Officials and candidates have made impassioned appeals to avoid a repeat of the tribal rampages that erupted five years ago when disputes over the poll result fuelled clashes between tribal loyalists of rival candidates.
Over 1 200 people were killed, shattering Kenya’s reputation as one of Africa’s most stable democracies and bringing its economy, sub Saharan Africa’s fourth largest, to a standstill.
Just hours before voting began, at least nine security officers in the restive coastal region were hacked to death in two attacks, and six attackers were killed, regional police chief Aggrey Adoli said.
Senior police officers blamed the attacks on a separatist movement, suggesting different motives to those that caused the post-2007 vote ethnic killings that could limit their impact.
As in 2007, the race has come down to a high-stakes duel between two candidates, this time between Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the loser in 2007 to outgoing President Mwai Kibaki.
Both contenders will depend heavily on votes from their tribes.
The United States and Western donors are worried about the stability of a nation that is an ally in the fight against militant Islam in the region.
They are also concerned about how to respond to a victory by Kenyatta, who faces charges by the International Criminal Court of orchestrating violence five years ago.
“If elected, we will be able to discharge our duties,” said Kenyatta’s running mate, William Ruto who also faces charges of crimes against humanity.
“We shall co-operate with the court with a final intention of clearing our names.”
Many polling stations will close later because their opening was delayed and some still had long lines.
The election commission has seven days to announce the official outcome.
Polls suggest there could be a run-off, provisionally set for April.
The European Union observer mission said turnout was high even at the coast where the attacks took place.
“The atmosphere observed is mostly calm,” Alojz Peterle, chief of EU Observer Mission and former Slovenian prime minister, told reporters at a polling station in central Nairobi.
“People still queue peacefully and patiently. We hope that this peaceful and patience atmosphere will last until the end of the procedure even if it takes longer than expected.”
One of the attacks yesterday took place on the outskirts of Mombasa and another in Kilifi about 50km to the north.
Senior police officers blamed them on a separatist movement, the Mombasa Republican Council, which wanted the national vote scrapped and a referendum on secession instead.
At the Kilifi site, Reuters footage showed a piece of paper on the ground with the words: “MRC. Coast is not Kenya. We don’t want elections. We want our own country”. But the group’s spokesman denied responsibility and said it only sought change by peaceful means. — Reuters.
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