Kenyan election officials were counting millions of ballots yesterday in the country's closest-ever presidential race as unofficial early results showed President Mwai Kibaki trailing.
Thursday's contest pitted Kibaki against his former ally, flamboyant opposition candidate Raila Odinga. Lines at polling stations stretched for miles in some areas, a sign Kenyans are increasingly confident their votes count as the continent swings firmly toward democracy.
Results were coming in from around the country and counting could stretch into today in a vote deemed too close to call, the electoral commission said. Unofficial results by local media, taken from tallies at some polling centers, all put Odinga in the lead, but the groups cautioned that not all constituencies had been checked.
Kenya Television Network reported yesterday morning that Odinga has 1,170,330 votes to Kibaki's 807,530 so far.
Kibaki urged Kenyans yesterday to wait for the official results.
"We wish to remind all Kenyans that the responsibility for counting the votes and for announcing the election results rests solely with ECK [Electoral Commission of Kenya]," he said in a statement.
Violence was a major concern in the run-up to the election, and several diplomats have expressed concern that a narrow victory on either side could lead to rioting by those who do not accept or trust the results. But Thursday's process was generally orderly, and no major disruptions were reported.
"It might be safe to say at this early stage that the polling was a success," the Daily Nation newspaper said in an editorial yesterday.
In Washington, US State Department spokesman Tom Casey praised the vote's high turnout.
"The basic mechanics of the election, so far, look to be fairly good," he said.
In the weeks and months before the election, however, clashes in western Kenya killed hundreds. An outlawed gang called Mungiki that had circulated leaflets in July calling on Kenyan youth to rise up against the government was blamed in a string of beheadings. And on Wednesday, authorities said opposition supporters had stoned three police officers to death in western Kenya, accusing them of being part of a government conspiracy to rig the elections.
"At this stage, after closing the polling stations, our observers have not obtained any evidence of fraud," Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, chief EU election monitor, said on Thursday. "But we should keep in mind that the counting and the tally are still ahead."
Kibaki won by a landslide victory in 2002, ending 24 years in power by Daniel arap Moi, who was constitutionally barred from extending his term. Moi's blanket use of patronage resulted in crippling mismanagement and a culture of corruption that plunged Kenya into an economic crisis.
Kibaki, 76, has been credited with helping boost this East African nation's economy, with a growth rate that is among the highest in Africa and a booming tourism industry. But his anti-graft campaign has largely been seen as a failure, and the country still struggles with tribalism and poverty.
Odinga, a 62-year-old former political prisoner under Moi, cast himself as an agent of change and a champion of the poor. But he has been accused of failing to do enough to help his constituents during 15 years as a lawmaker.
Odinga's main constituency is Kibera, one of Africa's largest slums, a maze of potholed tracks and ramshackle dwellings that is home to at least 700,000 people.
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