- Title: Kenyans fear violence if election result disputed
- Date: 7th August 2017
- Summary: NAIROBI, KENYA (AUGUST 7, 2017) (REUTERS) PEOPLE AND POLICE OFFICERS WALKING IN STREET MORE OF PEOPLE WALKING NEWSPAPER STAND VARIOUS OF NEWSPAPERS STAR NEWSPAPER'S HEADLINE READING (English): "TIGHT RACES TO WATCH TOMORROW" NEWSPAPER'S HEADLINE READING (English): "EA (EAST AFRICA) BETS ON SAFE KENYA POLLS BUT IS IT WELL PREPARED?" DAILY NATION NEWSPAPER WITH PICTURES OF KENYAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES: OPPOSITION LEADER (PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE OF THE NATIONAL SUPER ALLIANCE (NASA) RAILA ODINGA (RIGHT) AND PRESIDENT UHURU KENYATTA OF RULING JUBILEE PARTY (LEFT) / HEADLINE READING (English): "A RACE LIKE NO OTHER" (SOUNDBITE) (English) KENYAN VOTER, KEVIN MUKHANGA, SAYING: "I would ask my fellow Kenyans we remain peaceful, we vote peacefully and let the will of the people be done. if Raila wins, well and good. If Uhuru wins, well and good. Kenya will continue as a nation. The elections will come, as I said earlier and go but let the election be free and fair." VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC IN NAIROBI STREETS ELECTION POSTER OF KENYATTA (SOUNDBITE) (Swahili) KENYAN VOTER, JOSEPH KAMAU, SAYING: "Am urging all Kenyans including myself to maintain peace, there should be no violence due to those we are voting for. We should continue loving each other just as we have always done in the grassroots because we are the ones who know how we lead our lives, we must realize that we are the ones who will suffer if we destroy what we have, so I'm urging everyone from both sides to live in peace. Kenya is much bigger than any individual."
- Embargoed: 21st August 2017 11:56
- Keywords: Kenya's Jubilee ruling party National Super Alliance (NASA) opposition leader Raila Odinga Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta President Deputy William Ruto
- Location: NAIROBI, KENYA
- City: NAIROBI, KENYA
- Country: Kenya
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA0016T5QSLJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The streets of Kenyan capital Nairobi were eerily calm on Monday (August 7), the eve of the presidential election that many fear could descend into violence.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga, 72, who lost elections in 2007 and 2013, has already said President Uhuru Kenyatta, 55, can only win if his ruling Jubilee party rigs the vote, a stance that increases the chances of a disputed result and unrest.
Opinion polls before Tuesday's (August 8) presidential election put the pair neck-and-neck. Kenyans will also be voting for members of parliament and local representatives.
In 2007, Odinga's call for street protests after problems with the vote count triggered a widespread campaign of ethnic violence in which 1,200 people were killed and 600,000 displaced.
The violence also hammered East Africa's biggest economy as regional trade ground to a halt and tourists, the biggest source of foreign exchange, cancelled holidays.
Much of the killing a decade ago was in Kisumu, a city of a million people, most of them from Odinga's Luo tribe, on the shores of Lake Victoria.
Rights groups say hate-speech has been notably absent from large public speeches in both campaigns - an important difference from 2007 - although two incidents in the last week have put the nation of nearly 50 million on edge.
A key election official was found tortured and murdered a week ago, and on Friday (August 4) two foreign political advisers to Odinga were arrested and deported by plain-clothes police. Their laptops were also seized. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
