Kenya election dispute worsens

Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya — A dispute over Kenya’s presidential election intensified Thursday when supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga said an unofficial tally showed that he won — a claim that conflicted with a provisional official result that put incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta in the lead.

Although most of the East African nation was calm after Tuesday’s vote, scattered clashes broke out between police and opposition supporters.

The uncertainty has left Kenya in political limbo, as its people await final results that they hope will dissipate tensions over vote-rigging allegations and preserve the long-term stability that has made the country a commercial hub.

Opposition official Musalia Mudavadi claimed to have “complete data” from election commission servers showing Mr. Odinga with a lead of several hundred thousand votes over Mr. Kenyatta, contrary to results on the commission’s website that put the president more than 1 million votes ahead.

The opposition has received information from “confidential” sources in the election commission that indicates “the actual presidential election results contained in their database,” Mr. Mudavadi said. He said there was a “serious attempt to try to either doctor or alter the final results.”

Mr. Odinga, a former prime minister who has run unsuccessfully for president three times before, said hackers infiltrated the commission’s computer system and manipulated results against him.

Commission chairman Wafula Chebukati said a hacking attempt was made but it failed. Election officials are painstakingly trying to confirm their provisional results showing Mr. Kenyatta in the lead with checks of documents from polling stations nationwide. The election commission has until Aug. 15 to release the final tally.

“The long wait is leading to tension,” said political analyst Hezron Mogambi.

Clashes between police and opposition supporters erupted in a Nairobi slum. Police fired on rioters in Kawangware, a poor area of the capital, according to an Associated Press photographer. One wounded man was carried away by protesters who said police shot him.

Violence also broke out in Garissa county, where opposition supporters demonstrated against the announcement of a ruling party candidate as the winner of a gubernatorial race.

International observers said they have not noted any signs of interference with the vote and appealed to Kenyans to be patient.

Mr. Odinga lost in a 2007 election that was followed by violence fueled by ethnic tensions that killed more than 1,000 people. He also lost the 2013 vote to Mr. Kenyatta and took allegations of vote-tampering to the Supreme Court, which rejected his case.