Provisional results in Kenya give Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta a razor-thin victory in Monday's presidential election.
The early results say Kenyatta won with 50.03 percent of the vote. Prime Minister Raila Odinga is in second place.
Getting more than 50 percent of the vote is critical to avoid a runoff election. Kenyatta appears to have achieved that margin by just 4,100 votes out of a total 12.3 million cast.
Kenya's electoral commission has not yet finalized the results and says it will announce the official tally on Saturday morning.
The vote counting has been slowed since an electronic reporting system failed earlier this week.
On Thursday, Odinga's running mate Kalonzo Musyoka said some results have been, in his words, "doctored." Election commission chairman Hassan denied the allegation.
Monday's vote was the first since Kenya's 2007 election which led to weeks of violence. More than 1,100 people were killed and 600,000 displaced after that disputed election.
In another development, the International Criminal Court has delayed the trial for Kenyatta's running mate, William Ruto, from April 10 to May 28.
Both Ruto and Kenyatta are charged with helping to orchestrate Kenya's post-election violence in 2007 and 2008. On Thursday, the ICC postponed Kenyatta's trial from April until July.
Despite the vote-counting problems, international observers have described Monday's vote in Kenya as transparent and credible.
Both Kenyatta and Odinga have promised to respect the result of this year's vote.
The early results say Kenyatta won with 50.03 percent of the vote. Prime Minister Raila Odinga is in second place.
Getting more than 50 percent of the vote is critical to avoid a runoff election. Kenyatta appears to have achieved that margin by just 4,100 votes out of a total 12.3 million cast.
Kenya's electoral commission has not yet finalized the results and says it will announce the official tally on Saturday morning.
Uhuru Kenyatta
Uhuru Kenyatta- Deputy prime minister, former finance minister
- 51 years old, son of Kenya's first president
- Faces crimes against humanity charges at the International Criminal Court at The Hague relating to post-election violence in 2007
- Nominated to parliament in 2001
- Appointed to run the Kenya Tourism Board in 1999
On Thursday, Odinga's running mate Kalonzo Musyoka said some results have been, in his words, "doctored." Election commission chairman Hassan denied the allegation.
Monday's vote was the first since Kenya's 2007 election which led to weeks of violence. More than 1,100 people were killed and 600,000 displaced after that disputed election.
In another development, the International Criminal Court has delayed the trial for Kenyatta's running mate, William Ruto, from April 10 to May 28.
Raila Odinga
Raila Odinga- Prime minister, head of the CORD alliance
- 68 years old, son of Kenya’s first vice president
- Unsuccessfully ran for president against Mwai Kibaki in 2007
- Elected to parliament in 1992
- Charged with treason and detained without trial in the 1980s
Despite the vote-counting problems, international observers have described Monday's vote in Kenya as transparent and credible.
Both Kenyatta and Odinga have promised to respect the result of this year's vote.
