KENYA: Prime Minister Raila Odinga votes in the Kenyan presidential election which will come down to a head-to-head between him and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta

Record ID: 362503

  • Title: KENYA: Prime Minister Raila Odinga votes in the Kenyan presidential election which will come down to a head-to-head between him and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta
  • Date: 4th March 2013
  • Summary: NAIROBI, KENYA (MARCH 4, 2013) (REUTERS) ***CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS PRIME MINISTER RAILA ODINGA VOTING IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
  • Embargoed: 19th March 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA60MQDAWX1WGW0WW8HF4J14R28
  • Story Text: Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Monday (March 4) voted with his fellow Kenyans in the presidential election that will test whether the east African nation can rebuild its image after tribal blood-letting followed a 2007 poll, but the killing of at least four policemen cast an early shadow.
    A few hours before voting officially started at 6 a.m. (0300 GMT), four police officers deployed to keep the peace during the vote in the Mombasa port city area were hacked to death by a gang of machete-wielding youths, a senior officer said.
    Officials and candidates have made impassioned appeals to avoid a repeat of the tribal bloodshed that erupted over the disputed result of the 2007 election, which killed more than 1,200 people and hurt Kenya's reputation as one of Africa's most stable democracies.
    Ambrose Munyasia, chief of police intelligence in the Coast region, said he suspected the gang that attacked the police were linked to the separatist movement, the Mombasa Republican Council, which had sought and failed to have the national vote scrapped and to hold a referendum on independence.
    Outgoing President Mwai Kibaki, barred from seeking a third five-year term, addressed Kenyans before the election saying: "I also make a passionate plea for all of us to vote peacefully. Indeed, peace is a cornerstone of our development."
    As in 2007, the race has come down to a high-stakes head-to-head between two candidates, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta. Once again both will depend heavily on votes from loyalists from their tribes.
    Though well ahead of six other contenders, polls suggest neither Odinga nor Kenyatta may be able to command enough ballots for an outright victory in the first round. That could set the stage for a tense run-off tentatively set for April 11.
    A narrow first-round victory for either candidate could raise prospects for legal challenges.
    Kenya's neighbours are watching nervously, after their economies felt the shockwaves when the violence five years ago shut down trade routes running through east Africa's biggest economy. Some landlocked states have stockpiled fuel and other materials.
    The United States and other Western countries are worried about the election in a country seen as a vital ally in the regional battle against militant Islam. Adding to election tensions, al Shabaab militants, battling Kenyan peacekeeping troops in Somalia, issued a veiled threat days before the vote.
    The West also frets about the outcome of the presidential race.
    Kenyatta, 51, has been indicted for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court after he was accused with his running mate, William Ruto, of instigating the post-2007 vote violence. He denies the charges. But, if he wins, it would present a diplomatic dilemma for Western nations that donate hundreds of millions dollars a year to Kenya.
    Like other candidates, Kenyatta called on his supporters to vote peacefully and promised he would accept any result.
    To try to prevent a repeat of the contested outcome that sparked the violence after the December 2007 vote, a new, broadly respected election commission is using more technology to prevent fraud, speed up counting and increase transparency.
    This could lead to a swifter announcement of results, after delays in 2007 fuelled the crisis. Provisional figures may emerge within hours of polls closing, although the commission has seven days to declare the official outcome.
    Kenya has passed a new constitution since 2007, police chiefs have deployed extra forces to maintain security and there is a more independent judiciary which commands greater respect. Officials have appealed to candidates to raise any challenges in the courts and not on the streets.
    Even so, Odinga the 68-year-old, a veteran of Kenyan politics who may now have his last shot at the presidency, has already raised a warning flag, telling Reuters that the commission had by "design or omission" failed to register all voters in his strongholds, putting him at a disadvantage, a charge the commission denies.
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