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Africa
Kenya votes in bitter presidential race with economy in spotlight but tribal rifts in the wings
(Reuters)
By Kevin Sieff
August 8 at 11:25 AM
NAIROBI — Kenyan voters waited in line for hours Tuesday to decide a fiercely contested election for president, as concerns about possible ethnic violence put much of the country on edge.
The race — pitting incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta, 55, against former prime minister Raila Odinga, 72 — spurred a large turnout across one of Africa’s most vibrant democracies. But Kenya has been torn by tribal clashes in the past, and Odinga has already told his supporters that he believed only fraud could stand in the way of victory.
The lines began forming before sunrise in Nairobi, snaking past the corrugated market stalls of its sprawling slums and the upscale apartment buildings in its ritzy suburbs. After months of nonstop campaigning, the country’s roads were lined with the billboards of political parties.
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Kenya’s next president will take the helm of an economy that has outpaced the vast majority of countries on the continent. Kenya serves as a base for diplomats, businessmen and aid workers, who have come to see the country as an island of stability in a fragile region, bordering South Sudan and Somalia.
Candidates campaign before Kenyan elections
View Photos As Kenya prepares for Tuesday’s presidential election, there are fears of potential violence and claims of vote rigging.
But it is nonetheless a country fraught with problems — corruption in the public sector, terrorism emanating from Somalia and tribalism that has led to sometimes dangerous political clashes. In 2007, post-election violence left about 1,400 people dead.
Although both Kenyatta and Odinga have produced lists of pledges and policy statements, “the race is almost exclusively about ethnic groups trying to hold on to power or take power,” said Murithi Mutiga, a researcher at the International Crisis Group.
Tensions have deepened in recent months, first with a torrent of incendiary fake news stories, and then, in late July, with the apparent murder of a top election official and rumors about vote rigging. Early in the campaign cycle, many assumed Kenyatta would win by a wide margin, but Odinga has inched closer, and recent polls show the two candidates neck and neck.
The tight race, coupled with concerns about vote rigging, made the prospect of violence a worry for many of those waiting in line at polling sites. Already, large numbers of people had fled Nairobi by bus to avoid possible fighting.
“Of course it’s on my mind after what happened in 2007,” said Edith Oketch, 35, who voted with her 10-month-old daughter clinging to her shoulder.
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Oketch had avoided political rallies, fearing they might get out of hand, but on Tuesday there was no question that she would vote. She lined up at a polling center in a primary school near her home in Kibera, Kenya’s largest slum.