Kenya was largely quiet yesterday following violence in the aftermath of elections, as opposition leader Raila Odinga came under growing international pressure to concede defeat.
There have been at least 24 deaths in election-related unrest, a rights group said on Saturday, but by yesterday the violence appeared to have largely abated.
Diplomats and regional leaders are urging Odinga, a former political prisoner, to concede.
Their united stance leaves the 72-year-old opposition leader isolated if he chooses to maintain the allegations of election fraud and proclaim himself president.
He has not issued a public statement since Thursday, but was due to address supporters in Nairobi’s biggest slum yesterday afternoon.
A Western diplomat said allies were not interested in revisiting the type of power-sharing deals that ended the post-election violence a decade ago.
“If you have evidence that the election was rigged, produce it,” he said. “Most of the stuff they are alleging is not accurate.”
Initially, the coalition alleged the electoral server had been hacked, and produced 50 pages of computer logs that security experts said were inconclusive at best.
They later said a secret source within the electoral board had passed them the true election results, which was debunked by the election commission, who pointed out basic mathematical errors.
Later, Odinga said paper forms from each polling station scanned and uploaded to the election commission Web site to support its electronic tally were fake. He has not produced alternative forms.
Regional leaders have already congratulated Kenyatta, the 55-year-old son of the nation’s first president, on winning a second term.
In Kisumu, the western city that is Odinga’s heartland of support, some shops opened yesterday and traffic was moving normally.
“Kisumu is calm... For now, the whole region is calm and we are happy,” said Leonard Katana, assistant inspector-general of police for the western Nyanza region.
In Nairobi, residents of slum areas said the situation was calm.
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