Kenya’s close presidential election draws fewer voters
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Fewer Kenyans voted Tuesday in an unusual presidential election where a longtime opposition leader who is backed by the outgoing president faces the brash deputy president who styles himself as the outsider. Turnout was just 56% an hour before polls closed as some voters cited little hope of real change.
The election was considered close but calm. East Africa's economic hub could see a presidential runoff for the first time. Economic issues such as widespread corruption could be of greater importance than the ethnic tensions that have marked past votes with sometimes deadly results.
Kenya is a standout with its relatively democratic system in a region where some leaders are notorious for clinging to power for decades. Its stability is crucial for foreign investors, the most humble of street vendors and troubled neighbors like Ethiopia and Somalia.
The top candidates are Raila Odinga, a democracy campaigner who has vied for the presidency for a quartercentury, and 55-year-old Deputy President William Ruto, who has stressed his journey from a humble childhood to appeal to struggling Kenyans long accustomed to political dynasties.
"In moments like this is when the mighty and the powerful come to the realization that it is the simple and the ordinary that eventually make the choice," Ruto told journalists. "I look forward to our victorious day." He urged Kenyans to be peaceful and respect others' choices.
"I have confidence that the people of Kenya are going to speak loudly in favor of democratic change," Odinga told journalists. A cheering crowd jogged alongside his convoy as he arrived to vote in Nairobi.
To win outright, a candidate needs more than half of all votes and at least 25% of the votes in more than half of Kenya's 47 counties. No outright winner means a runoff election within 30 days. Attention turned Tuesday night to classrooms and other votecounting locations across the country as paper ballots were inspected one by one.