Kenya in political limbo as vote dispute deepens
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 — challenging 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 longterm stability that has made the country a commercial hub.
Opposition official Musalia Mudavadi claimed to have “complete data” from election commission servers showing Odinga with a lead of several hundred thousand votes over Kenyatta, contrary to results on the commission’s website that put more than 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,” Mudavadi said. He said there was a “serious attempt to try to either doctor or alter the final results.”
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 trying to confirm provisional results with checks of documents from polling stations nationwide. The election commission has until Tuesday to release the final tally.
“The long wait is leading to tension,” said political analyst Hezron Mogambi. “We are supposed by now to have had results, but the the president 1 million delay has been caused by the fact that the opposition had complaints about the system of transmitting results.”
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. Demonstrators also burned tires in Kibera, another Nairobi slum.
Violence also broke out in Garissa county, where opposition supporters demonstrated after a gubernatorial ruling party candidate was named winner. Police tried to restore calm after part of the town’s market was burned, said regional official Mohamud Saleh. On Wednesday, at least three people were shot and killed in confrontations between security forces and opposition supporters in several areas of Kenya.
The U.S. State Department urged Kenyans to refrain from violence and await the announcement of the final results. International observers said they have not noted any signs of interference with the vote.