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Millions Vote in Crucial Kenyan Elections Millions Vote in Crucial Kenyan Elections
(35 minutes later)
NAIROBI, Kenya — Millions of Kenyans poured into polling stations across the country on Monday in a crucial, anxiously awaited presidential election, and early reports said some violence erupted in the coastal region around Mombasa, recalling far greater bloodletting in the last national ballot five years ago. NAIROBI, Kenya — Millions of Kenyans poured into polling places on Monday to cast their votes in a crucial, anxiously awaited presidential election, and while the voting proceeded relatively smoothly, at least six police officers were killed in attacks.
Across the land, the turnout appeared to be tremendous. Starting hours before dawn, lines of voters wrapped in blankets and heavy coats stretched for nearly a mile in some places. Turnout was tremendous, election officials said, starting hours before dawn, with lines of voters stretching nearly a mile long.
But in Mombasa, on the Indian Ocean, at least four police officers were killed with machetes in an overnight attack that the authorities believe was carried out by the Mombasa Republican Council, a fringe separatist group that opposes the elections and believes Kenya’s coast should be a separate country. In the Kibera slum, a sprawling settlement of rusted shanties and footpaths, some people waited nine hours on their feet under a withering sun. “We’re tired! We’re tired!” they yelled, but still, they stayed in their places, with no food or drink, determined to vote.
News reports put the death toll higher, with Reuters quoting senior police officials as saying nine security officers, two civilians and six attackers had died. Other reports put the tally at 12. “People didn’t come in a trickle, they flooded,” said Njeri Kabeberi, the head of the Center for Multiparty Democracy — Kenya, a nonprofit organization.
Some Western election observers in Mombasa, Kenya’s biggest coastal city, have pulled back to their hotels because of security concerns. Ms. Kabeberi said that the voting was slow in many places but orderly and that over all the election was going “very, very well.”
In northeastern Kenya, near the border with Somalia, there was a small explosion at a polling station and a grenade was thrown into a police camp. Early reports indicated there were few, if any, casualties in the incidents. This is Kenya’s first presidential vote since 2007, when a dubious election, marred by widespread evidence of vote rigging, set off ethnic clashes that swept across the country and killed more than 1,000 people. Many Kenyans have worried that history could repeat itself, and in the past week, the atmosphere in Nairobi has been almost like a hurricane about to hit.
Kenya’s top politicians are urging voters to remain calm and avoid the mayhem that erupted at the end of 2007 and early 2008 when a disputed election ignited ethnic grievances and set off clashes that killed more than 1,000 people. Flour, rice, bread and other staples have been stripped from supermarket shelves as families stock up on supplies, in case riots break out. Many people have fled ethnically mixed urban areas, fearing reprisal killings should the vote go awry.
“We must keep the peace,” said William Ruto, after voting Monday in his hometown, Eldoret. Mr. Ruto is running for deputy president and has been charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity connected to the violence in the last election. On Monday, the worst violence erupted on Kenya’s coast, but it was not clear how connected it was to the voting. Police officials said that a large gang — possibly up to 200 people — ambushed a patrol in the port city of Mombasa early Monday morning while it was still dark, and killed four officers with machetes. At least two other police officers were killed in other coastal locations and authorities immediately blamed the Mombasa Republican Council, a fringe separatist group that had opposed the elections and believes that Kenya’s coastal zone should be a separate country.
Raila Odinga, Kenya’s prime minister and one of the leading contenders for president, brimmed with confidence as he stepped into a cardboard ballot box in a Nairobi slum and cast his vote. “Today, Kenyans have a date with destiny,” he said. Some Western election observers in Mombasa then pulled back to their hotels because of security concerns. Analysts said the separatists may have timed their attack to exploit the election and the fact that Kenya’s security services were stretched extremely thin, with a rifle-toting security officer perched at the door of every polling station — and there were more than 30,000 stations nationwide.
Kenya is one of the most industrialized countries in Africa, a beachhead for Western interests and a close American ally but its history has been haunted by intense and often violent ethnic politics. Mr. Odinga, an ethnic Luo, says he was cheated out of victory in 2007. In northeastern Kenya, near the border of Somalia, there was a small explosion at a polling place and a grenade thrown into a police camp. From the information so far, it seemed there were few, if any, casualties.
His main rival is Uhuru Kenyatta, a Kikuyu and the son of Kenya’s first president. Mr. Kenyatta has also been charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity, accused of bankrolling Kikuyu death squads that murdered scores of Luo civilians in 2008. The Kikuyu-Luo political feud goes back decades to Kenya’s independence in 1963. Kenya’s top politicians have been urging voters to be peaceful and to avoid the mayhem that erupted at the end of 2007 and early 2008.
Many analysts predicted that neither Mr. Odinga nor Mr. Kenyatta will win more than 50 percent of the vote, mandating a heated runoff in April. “We must keep the peace,” said William Ruto, after voting early Monday. Mr. Ruto is running for deputy president and has been charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity connected to the violence last time around.
The voting on Monday seemed to be proceeding smoothly in some areas but was bumpy in others, with polling stations not opening on time. There were also problems with the new biometric voter identification process. The new digital equipment was not working at many polling stations and officials had to revert to printed voting lists, which are thought to be more susceptible to corruption. Raila Odinga, Kenya’s prime minister and one of the leading contenders for president, brimmed with confidence as he stepped into a cardboard ballot box in a Nairobi slum and cast his vote.
This election is the most complicated Kenya has ever held. A host of new positions have been created, like governorships, senate seats and county women’s representatives, in an attempt to change the winner-take-all nature of Kenyan politics. In some places, the sheer number of ballots caused long delays. “Today, Kenyans have a date with destiny,” he said.
“The cracks are beginning to show,” Mr. Odinga said Monday morning. But he added he was still confident that, this time, he would win. Kenya is one of the most industrialized and democratic countries in sub-Saharan Africa, a beachhead for Western interests and a close American ally, but its history has been haunted by intense and often violent ethnic politics. Mr. Odinga, an ethnic Luo, says he was cheated out of winning the election in 2007, and his main rival is Uhuru Kenyatta, a Kikuyu and the son of Kenya’s first president. Mr. Kenyatta has also been charged by the International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity, accused of bankrolling Kikuyu death squads that murdered scores of Luo civilians in 2008. The Kikuyu-Luo political feud goes back to Kenya’s independence in 1963. Kenya’s current president, a Kikuyu, is stepping down because of term limits.
“I voted for Raila,” said Bernard Mutua, a shoe shiner. “It’s not fair for one tribe to rule us.”
(It is actually two “tribes,” because of Kenya’s three presidents since independence, two have been Kikuyu and one — the longest serving one — a member of the Kalenjin ethnic group. Kenya has more than 40 different ethnic groups.)
Many analysts predict that neither Mr. Odinga nor Mr. Kenyatta will win more than 50 percent of the vote, mandating a heated runoff in April. There is also a requirement that the winning candidate receive 25 percent of the vote in the majority of Kenya’s counties, which, in a country crisscrossed by stubborn ethnic fault lines, could be difficult.
In the Mathare area of Nairobi, the voting resembled an assembly line of democracy. One poll worker checked identification cards; another tore off ballots from a big pad; and another stamped ballots as voters filed past, one by one, disappearing into cardboard voting booths and then emerging a few minutes later to stuff their ballots into a row of color-coded tubs. All was done quietly and efficiently.
“We are calm,” said Mary Mwaura, an election official in Mathare. “We are very O.K.”
In other places, though, things were bumpy. Many polls opened late, and there were issues with a new biometric voter identification system. In some places, perplexed election workers arrived at dawn without the user name or password to start their computers.
This election is the most complicated Kenya has ever held. A host of new positions have been created, like governorships, senate seats and county woman’s representatives, in an attempt to change the winner-take-all nature of Kenyan politics. In some places, the sheer number of ballots caused long delays.
“The cracks are beginning to show,” Mr. Odinga said Monday morning.
But he added he was still confident that, this time, he would win.
Many people in Kenya vote along ethnic lines, picking a candidate from their ethnic group.
For instance, Terry Wamaitha, a vegetable seller and a member of the Kikuyu ethnic group, said emphatically that she was voting for Mr. Kenyatta.
When asked if this was for ethnic reasons, she smiled.
“No way,” she said. “It’s just that he’s our boy.”