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| Kenyan Election Contender Asks That Vote Count Be Halted | Kenyan Election Contender Asks That Vote Count Be Halted |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| NAIROBI, Kenya — Election-related tensions rose steadily on Thursday after the party of Raila Odinga, the prime minister, who has been trailing in the polls, said that preliminary election results had been “doctored” and the counting process needs to be stopped. | |
| Millions of Kenyans flocked to the polls on Monday in an anxiously awaited presidential election and a winner was supposed have been announced by now but a breakdown in computer equipment has spawned long delays and mushrooming anxieties. | Millions of Kenyans flocked to the polls on Monday in an anxiously awaited presidential election and a winner was supposed have been announced by now but a breakdown in computer equipment has spawned long delays and mushrooming anxieties. |
| “We have evidence that the results we are receiving have been doctored,” said Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, Mr. Odinga’s running mate. “The national tallying process lacks integrity and has to be stopped.” | “We have evidence that the results we are receiving have been doctored,” said Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, Mr. Odinga’s running mate. “The national tallying process lacks integrity and has to be stopped.” |
| The election commission did not comment immediately and Mr. Odinga’s campaign officials said they were considering seeking a court injunction to immediately halt the tallying process. His campaign also said that it wanted to start the tallying process again from the beginning, with observers watching every step. | The election commission did not comment immediately and Mr. Odinga’s campaign officials said they were considering seeking a court injunction to immediately halt the tallying process. His campaign also said that it wanted to start the tallying process again from the beginning, with observers watching every step. |
| Partial results, with about half the votes counted, show Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s first president and a divisive politician who has been charged with crimes against humanity, leading Mr. Odinga by 53 to 41 percent. That margin has remained about the same since the first results began to trickle in. This is Kenya’s first presidential election since 2007, when widespread evidence of vote-rigging set off ethnic clashes that killed more than 1,000 people. | Partial results, with about half the votes counted, show Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s first president and a divisive politician who has been charged with crimes against humanity, leading Mr. Odinga by 53 to 41 percent. That margin has remained about the same since the first results began to trickle in. This is Kenya’s first presidential election since 2007, when widespread evidence of vote-rigging set off ethnic clashes that killed more than 1,000 people. |
| Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court accuse Mr. Kenyatta, along with his running mate, William Ruto, of organizing some of the violence. Kenya has undertaken many major reforms since then, including passing a new constitution and overhauling its election process. | Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court accuse Mr. Kenyatta, along with his running mate, William Ruto, of organizing some of the violence. Kenya has undertaken many major reforms since then, including passing a new constitution and overhauling its election process. |
| In this election, votes were supposed to be transmitted directly from tallying centers to election headquarters in Nairobi, the capital, via encrypted data messages over a mobile phone network. But the computer servers at the election headquarters crashed on Tuesday and now election officials are tabulating results manually, based on signed sheets of paper from centers around the country. | In this election, votes were supposed to be transmitted directly from tallying centers to election headquarters in Nairobi, the capital, via encrypted data messages over a mobile phone network. But the computer servers at the election headquarters crashed on Tuesday and now election officials are tabulating results manually, based on signed sheets of paper from centers around the country. |
| Helicopters and planes have been dispatched to pick up election officials from all corners of Kenya, from the Indian Ocean coastline to the arid deserts of the north. In the past 36 hours, election officials have trudged into the election center in Nairobi carrying locked black briefcases with the election results. | Helicopters and planes have been dispatched to pick up election officials from all corners of Kenya, from the Indian Ocean coastline to the arid deserts of the north. In the past 36 hours, election officials have trudged into the election center in Nairobi carrying locked black briefcases with the election results. |
| Mr. Musyoka cited a list of complaints, saying that the biometric computer equipment used to verify voters’ identities had failed in most parts of the country and that some areas were reporting results that exceeded 100 percent of voter registration. | Mr. Musyoka cited a list of complaints, saying that the biometric computer equipment used to verify voters’ identities had failed in most parts of the country and that some areas were reporting results that exceeded 100 percent of voter registration. |
| “Total collapse” is what he called it and he warned that after the violence of the last election, “Kenyans can’t take another problem of this sort.” But he urged supporters not to take “mass action” and instead to wait for a peaceful resolution of the election dispute. | “Total collapse” is what he called it and he warned that after the violence of the last election, “Kenyans can’t take another problem of this sort.” But he urged supporters not to take “mass action” and instead to wait for a peaceful resolution of the election dispute. |