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Violence as Kenyan Vote Nears

Too close to call 48 hours before poll in key East African nation

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 25, 2007 10:00 AM CST
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(Newser) – Kenya's presidential election remains too close to call with 48 hours to go, writes the Mail and Guardian. President Mwai Kibaki is seeking a second term but facing a stiff challenge from former ally Raila Odinga for the leadership of East Africa's bellwether nation. Yesterday police fired teargas at supporters of the two camps who began hurling stones at each other in downtown Nairobi.

Kibaki is a member of the Kikuyu ethnic group, which is dominant in Kenya, but Odinga is rallying minority groups together to present a united front. As the New York Times writes, however, electoral law might result in a surprising stalemate: Odinga stands to lose his own seat in Parliament, while Kibaki might not clear a regional hurdle. That would make both candidates ineligible to be president and plunge the country into disarray.

Incumbent President Mwai Kibaki, from the Party of National Unity, waves to his supporters as he arrives at Uhuru Park, Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Dec. 24, 2007 as he seeks his reelection in the Dec. 27 poll in which 14.2 million people are registered to vote. Mwai Kibaki, Raila Odinga...
Incumbent President Mwai Kibaki, from the Party of National Unity, waves to his supporters as he arrives at Uhuru Park, Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Dec. 24, 2007 as he seeks his reelection in the Dec. 27...   (Associated Press)
Supporters of Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga campaign for his election as president in Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday, Oct. 6, 2007. (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi, File)
Supporters of Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga campaign for his election as president in Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday, Oct. 6, 2007. (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi, File)   (Associated Press)
Kenyans run from teargas fired by police, as supporters of the Orange Democratic Movement and the Party of National Unity clash, ahead of the Dec. 27 Presidential elections, Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Dec. 24, 2007. (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi)
Kenyans run from teargas fired by police, as supporters of the Orange Democratic Movement and the Party of National Unity clash, ahead of the Dec. 27 Presidential elections, Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Dec....   (Associated Press)
A supporter of President Mwai Kibaki, from the Party of National Unity, (PNU) with stickers reading DOMO on her lips, which means No Empty Words, at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Dec. 24, 2007, during the final campaign rally for President Mwai Kibaki, who is seeking reelection in the...
A supporter of President Mwai Kibaki, from the Party of National Unity, (PNU) with stickers reading DOMO on her lips, which means" No Empty Words", at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Dec. 24, 2007,...   (Associated Press)
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Long piece on Kenyan politics from last week's Times mag
New York Times

 
Kenya • Kikuyu • Mwai Kibaki • Raila Odinga • election • presidential election

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