Violence continues after Kenya election suspension
Vote for president deemed dangerous
JOHANNESBURG — Kenya’s election commission on Friday abandoned an effort to hold presidential election votes in four counties in the western part of the country, as clashes continued between protesters and police in opposition strongholds after Thursday’s chaotic repeat presidential election.
The new election was held after the Supreme Court annulled the Aug. 8 presidential election because of irregularities.
On Thursday, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission postponed voting in four western Kenya counties — Kisumu, Migori, Homa Bay and Siaya — until Saturday because of violence. But the commission Friday suspended the vote indefinitely, saying the lives of electoral staff would be in danger. The decision came after warnings from opposition and church leaders that going ahead would only trigger more violence.
On Friday, an opposition protester was shot dead by police in Bungoma town in western Kenya, raising the number killed in election-relatedviolence to five. Four of the deaths occurred in western regions where the opposition is dominant. Dozens more have been injured, mainly when police opened fire on protesters, adding to concern over excessive use of force by riot police.
An opposition boycott of the repeat election and violence in opposition areas saw low turnout, estimated at about 34 percent compared with 80 percent in August.
President Uhuru Kenyatta was deprived of a credible political mandate because of the low turnout Thursday. With Kenya facing its worst political crisis in nearly a decade, the result raises the specter of a prolonged stalemate and continued instability, underscoring doubts over Mr. Kenyatta’s ability to unify the country and end the crisis.
The election has deepened sharp political divisions, raising fears ethnic clashes could spread in a nation where elections are a struggle for power and resources, and people often vote along ethnic lines. After disputed elections in 2007, ethnic violence broke out, leaving up to 1,500 people dead.
Clashes between rival ethnic groups flared in Kawangware, a neighborhood west of Nairobi, and men were attacked with machetes and clubs as violence escalated.