In Kenya vote, ICC indictee takes early lead

With about a third of the ballots counted, early results showed Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta ahead with 54 percent of the vote to Prime Minister Raila Odinga with 41 percent.

Isaak Hassan, the chairman of Kenya's electoral commission, said Tuesday that results from 10,000 polling stations are in, but officials await results from 23,000 more stations.

“Nobody should celebrate, nobody should complain,” he said. “We therefore continue to appeal for patience from the public, the political parties as well as the candidates.”

Either Kenyatta or Odinga need more than 50 percent of the vote to win, otherwise the two will contend in an April run-off. The vote commission has seven days to release certified results.

Hassan said the number of so-called spoiled ballots — votes that won't be counted for not complying with all the rules — was “quite worrying.” An American election observer working for the group Sisi ni Amani Kenya — We Are Peace Kenya — said the more than a quarter million ballots thrown out indicate voter education efforts weren't as successful as they should have been.

Long lines formed around the country Monday. Election officials estimate that turnout was about 70 percent of 14 million registered voters. Attacks by separatists on the coast killed 19 people, and other attacks were seen near the border with Somalia, but the vast majority of the country voted in peace.

In the coastal city of Mombasa on Tuesday, three suspected members of the secessionist group Mombasa Republican Council were charged in court for the murder of four police officers during elections.

On Monday, a group of 200 separatists set a trap for police in Mombasa in the pre-dawn hours, Inspector General David Kimaiyo said. Four police were hacked to death with machetes, coast police boss Aggrey Adoli said.

The separatist group — the Mombasa Republican Council — had threatened election day attacks, Kimaiyo said. The MRC believes Kenya's coast should be an independent country. Their cause, which is not defined by religion, is fueled by the belief that political leaders in Nairobi have taken the coast's land for themselves, impoverishing indigenous residents.

Kenya's capital, Nairobi, was quiet Tuesday and no more violence had been reported in the country.

1|2|Next Page>>

SHARE CLOSE
Blogger		Google+
Live Journal		Plurk
Stumble Upon

Tweet

	PREVIOUS ARTICLE
	Senate committee set to vote on Obama's CIA choice

NEXT ARTICLE
Chavez's breathing problems worsen, has severe new infection

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email

Submit