Kenya Presidential elections kick off amidst fear of violence
KAMPALA- Kenyan presidential elections have kicked off this morning amidst fear of violence. The elections started at 6:46 am African time and 47 counties are taking party in the elections which is being conducted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) of Kenya and is the first elections to be held under its body.
Voting in Kenya
The chairman of IEBC, Issack Hassan, has promised that the General Election will be peaceful, free and fair and the provisional presidential results will be released within 48 hours after poll centers close.
Some 23,000 observers, including 2,600 International monitors, have been deployed, according to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)
Raila Odinga casted his vote at Old Kibera primary school polling center, Langata Constituency, this morning .
Manuel Odenga, a journalist from Kenya who spoke to Shout-Africa.com said Voting is underway in many constituencies with throngs of voters standing in long queues ready to vote.
He says the situation is still very calm, no signs of violence have so far been reported but people are worried that any time anything may happen.
Many people who have been in urban centers have left to their villages to vote and in fear of violence that may erupt when the results are released.
Security is very tight at all polling stations in Kenya, Inspector-General of Police David Kimaiyo said during a Sunday service at All Saints Cathedral, Nairobi that over 99000 police officers security officers had been deployed to all corners of the country to ensure law and order prevails during the poll. Mr. Kimaiyo, appealed to Kenyans to maintain peace during and after the elections, and warned that police would firmly deal with troublemakers.
“I am making a passionate appeal, tomorrow as we go to vote, let us maintain the same peace that we have enjoyed this far. No one should do anything that can raise tension or trigger conflict,” he said.
Kenya went into elections in 2007 between President Mwai Kibaki and Railia Odanga which turned violent when Mr. Odinga accused President Kibaki of rigging the elections.
The post-election violence in 2007-8 claimed the lives of more than 1,200 people and an estimated 600,000 were displaced.
The two later formed a unit government which served the Kenyans up to date.
President Mwai Kibaki is stepping aside after serving his two constitutional terms and has appealed for a peaceful vote
PM Raila Odinga is at neck -to- neck with Deputy PM Uhuru Kenyatta who is wanted by ICC together with his running mate former education minister, William Ruto to succeed President Kibaki.
The third main candidate of the eight running for the presidency is former vice-president Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) this week released a report detailing cases of violence, hate speech and ethnic intimidation, warning that campaigns had “continued to raise emotions and inflame passions as they campaign for votes”. BBC reported.
Financial Times newspaper also quoted Mr. Odinga as saying that if he lost it would be “because of blackmail and intimidation” but he denied this calling the story a “total fabrication” and “absolutely slandered”. Mr. Kenyatta also condemned the reported remarks as “dangerous and inflammatory”.
The two rivals for the presidency, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his deputy Uhuru Kenyatta have publicly vowed that there will be no repeat of the violence after elections.
However, reports coming from the City of Mombasa indicate that at least seven people were killed including five police men when the police engaged in running battles with a local militia known as the Mombasa Republican Council, a secessionist group on Kenya’s coast.
Kenya is voting for its fourth president since their independence in 1963. – By Nangayi Guyson in Kampala
