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Kenya's Kibaki told to concede | Kenya's Kibaki told to concede |
(20 minutes later) | |
Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga has called on President Mwai Kibaki to admit defeat in national elections and accused him of electoral fraud. | |
Mr Odinga called on Kenya's Electoral Commission to carry out a full re-assessment of the results, which correspondents say could take days. | Mr Odinga called on Kenya's Electoral Commission to carry out a full re-assessment of the results, which correspondents say could take days. |
The count had already been halted while the country's electoral commission reviewed dozens of disputed results. | The count had already been halted while the country's electoral commission reviewed dozens of disputed results. |
The delays have sparked violence, amid reports that three people have died. | |
"I wish to appeal to President Mwai Kibaki to acknowledge and respect the will of the people of Kenya and honourably concede defeat," Mr Odinga said. | |
The Electoral Commission's review "cannot possibly address the multiple levels of fraud that have been committed by this administration," he added. | |
Roadblocks and bonfires | |
Mr Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement had held the lead since vote counting began, but he has since seen his advantage evaporate. | |
Although the results are still being disputed, the election has seen a clear rejection of Mr Kibaki's government, with about 20 ministers losing their seats. | |
Kibaki: Dream or nightmare?Odinga: King-maker | |
Both sides have raised allegations of vote rigging and rioting has broken out in some opposition strongholds. | |
There were also reports of trouble in Kisumu, Bungoma, Busia, Eldoret, Kericho and Kakamega. | |
Police have fired tear gas and gunshots into the air to disperse angry demonstrators who lit bonfires, set up roadblocks and even burned down homes. | |
Several people have died in the violence, including a man shot dead in a row at a polling station in western Nyanza province, police said. | |
"They want to steal votes. They are counting votes from regions favouring Kibaki and then they want to declare him the winner," said one protester, Peter Oduor. | |
Ethnic violence | |
Much of the violence was enacted along ethnic lines, with Luo supporters of Mr Odinga clashing with members of Mr Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe. | |
An Electoral Commission spokesman told the BBC that turnout had perhaps been more than 70%, from an electorate of 14m. | |
Results so far show a majority of MPs have lost their seats. | |
Kenyan parliamentarians gained notoriety in the past five years for arbitrarily increasing their salaries and allowances, while a majority of Kenyans continued to grapple with meagre wages and a high cost of living. | |
Vice-President Moody Awori was one of about 20 ministers who lost their seats. | |
The vote also saw three sons of retired president Daniel Arap Moi lose their seats in three different constituencies in the Rift Valley province. | |
Mr Moi has helped fund Mr Kibaki's campaign. If he loses, Mr Kibaki, who came to power with a landslide victory in 2002, will be Kenya's first sitting president ousted at the ballot box. |