Kenyans give president new term
Kenyatta declared victor over Odinga in heated balloting
NAIROBI, Kenya — President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner Friday of Kenya’s hardfought presidential election, but opposition candidate Raila Odinga alleged the voting was rigged.
In announcing the results of Tuesday’s contest, the election commission said Kenyatta won a second term with 54 percent in balloting it called “credible, fair and peaceful.”
Hundreds of riot police were in the streets of the capital, Nairobi, amid fears of further protests by opposition supporters, who called the vote a “charade” and said challenging the outcome in court wasn’t an option.
Kenyatta, the 55-year-old son of Kenya’s first president after independence from Britain, appealed for calm and unity after the bitter campaign.
The election was a test of the stability of the East African economic power as many recalled the postelection bloodshed a decade ago that left more than 1,000 dead.
Kenya had been relatively calm since the election but had braced for possible violence Friday night with police in the central business district.
Although celebrations by backers of Kenyatta were reported in several cities across Kenya, gunshots and screams were heard in at least two areas populated by Odinga supporters, according to police and a witness.
The election commission rejected claims by Odinga, a former prime minister, that its database had been hacked and the results manipulated against him.
The long wait for election results increased tensions in the nation of 45 million people, though the commission by law had until Aug. 15 to announce them. At least three people were killed in clashes between police and opposition supporters this week.
Odinga alleged that hackers infiltrated the election commission’s computer system in favor of his opponent. He claimed the hackers used the identity of Christopher Msando, an election official in charge of managing information technology systems. Officials had announced on July 31 that Msando had been tortured and killed.
In addition, the American CEO of an election data company working for Odinga was deported last weekend.
International election observers have said they saw no signs of interference with the vote. Election officials spent recent days confirming provisional results with checks of documents from polling stations nationwide.
Odinga lost the 2007 election that was followed by the violence that was fueled by ethnic tensions. He also lost the 2013 vote to Kenyatta and took allegations of vote-tampering to the Supreme Court, which rejected his case.