With the results from Kenya's closely contested elections still up in the air and evidence growing of election mischief, riots erupted across the country on Saturday. Columns of black smoke boiled up from the slums ringing Nairobi, the capital, as supporters of Raila Odinga, the leading presidential challenger, poured into the streets to protest what they said was a plot by the government to steal the vote.
The demonstrators clashed with police officers in riot gear and tore apart metal shanties with their bare hands. The scene replayed itself in Kisumu, Kakamega, Kajiado, Eldoret and other towns across Kenya, with several people killed. Just 12 hours before, Odinga, a flamboyant politician and businessman, had been cruising to victory, according to preliminary results. He was leading Kenya's president, Mwai Kibaki, by about one million votes in an election that was predicted to be the most fiercely fought in Kenya's history and perhaps the greatest test yet of this young, multiparty democracy.
| In one area, Kibaki received 105,000 votes, even though there were only 70,000 registered voters. In another, the vote tally was changed, at the last minute, to give the president an extra 60,000 votes. In a third area, the turnout was reported at 98 percent. |
But that lead nearly vanished overnight. On Saturday morning, the gap had been cut to about 100,000 votes, with Odinga still ahead, but barely, with 47 percent of the vote compared with 46 percent for Kibaki. By Saturday night, with about 90 percent of the vote counted, Odinga's lead had shrunk to a mere 38,000 votes.
But those results may not be valid. According to Kenya's election commission, which is considered somewhat independent from the government, at least three areas from Kibaki's stronghold of central Kenya reported suspiciously high numbers. In one area, Kibaki received 105,000 votes, even though there were only 70,000 registered voters. In another, the vote tally was changed, at the last minute, to give the president an extra 60,000 votes. In a third area, the turnout was reported at 98 percent.
Samuel Kivuitu, the chief of Kenya's election commission, said his officers would investigate. "We have powers to refuse results if they have obvious defects," he said. He delayed announcing final results until Sunday. |