Vote Counting Continues in Kenyan Presidential Election
Vote Counting Continues in Kenyan Presidential Election
A Masai woman walks towards ballot boxes to cast her vote in a general election in Kajiado West, some 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, March 4, 2013.
Kenyan election officials continue to count ballots from Monday's presidential vote, with provisional results so far showing Uhuru Kenyatta in the lead.
Fewer than half of polling stations had reported when the count resumed Wednesday after a break overnight.
Those results put Kenyatta ahead of his chief rival, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, by a 53-42 percent margin.
Election officials say that nearly 330,000 ballots have been rejected so far for not following voter rules. With the winning candidate required to secure more than 50 percent of all votes cast, some analysts are predicting that Kenyatta will fall short of the threshold and face a runoff election in April.
Kenyans Vote in Gatundu
1/8Lines form down the road to Mutomo Primary School as voters exercise patience during the Kenyan general elections of March 4, 2013. (J. Craig/VOA)
2/8People reported standing in line for several hours before casting their vote in Kenya’s general elections in Gatundu, Kenya, March 4, 2013.” (J. Craigs/VOA)
3/8Some voters arrived before 6:30 am and did not cast their ballots until after 11 am at Mutomo Primary School in Gatundu, Kenya, March 4, 2013 elections. (J.Craig/VOA)
4/8Jubilee presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta votes in his home constituency of Gatundu, Kenya, March 4, 2013. (J. Craig/VOA)
5/8Election officials check voters’ cards at the Mutomo Primary School, where voting for the Gatundu constituency took place, March 4, 2013. (J. Craig/VOA)
6/8The line grows longer outside the Mutomo Primary School as crowds prepare to cast their ballots, Gatundu, Kenya, March 4, 2013. (J. Craig/VOA)
7/8A father carries his daughter as he waits his turn to vote at the Mutomo Primary School, March 4, 2013. (J. Craig/VOA)
8/8An election officer marks the finger of a man who cast his vote, Gatundu, Kenya, March 4, 2013. (J. Craig/VOA)
Previous slide
Next slide
International observers have said the vote was generally calm.
John Stremlau of the U.S.-based Carter Center, says the group will release its preliminary report Wednesday, praising voters and Kenya's electoral body for a "peaceful" and "very vibrant" election.
"Let's hope that the results, when they become known, will lead to the winner showing generosity to the defeated and the defeated accepting with magnanimity the loss," said Stremlau. "Because I think all Kenyans want to move on and have this become the prosperous, stable country that it's always assumed to be."
Kenyatta, son of Kenya's first president and one of Africa's wealthiest men, faces trial in the International Criminal Court for allegedly bankrolling death squads that carried out reprisal attacks against opposition supporters after disputed 2007 polls.
More than 1,000 people were killed in the violence while hundreds of thousands of others were forced to flee their homes.
Odinga's campaign manager told VOA Tuesday the prime minister will catch up once more votes are counted from Odinga strongholds.
About 14 million Kenyans were eligible to vote in the elections for president, parliament and other key offices. Both Odinga and Kenyatta have promised to respect the result of the vote.
Monday's election was mostly peaceful, although just hours before voting began, at least 13 people, including seven police officers, were killed along Kenya’s coast. Kenyan police arraigned three suspects in court Tuesday.
Election chairman Ahmed Issack Hassan said there were no reported incidents of violence during voting hours. He also said voter turnout appears to have been above 70 percent.
The U.S. State Department condemned what it called "isolated incidences of violence" in Kenya.
