Polls yesterday opened in Kenya’s unusual presidential election, where a longtime opposition leader who is backed by the outgoing president faces the deputy president who is styling himself as the outsider.
The election is considered close, and Kenya could see a presidential runoff for the first time. Economic issues could be of greater importance than the ethnic tensions that have marked past votes with sometimes deadly results.
Hundreds of voters lined up hours ahead of polls opening in some locations, often after being summoned by volunteers’ early morning whistles. Voting started late in some areas, as materials or polling workers were delayed.
Photo: AFP
The top candidates are Raila Odinga, who has vied for the presidency for 25 years, and Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto, who has highlighted his journey from a humble childhood to appeal to millions of struggling Kenyans long accustomed to political dynasties.
“In moments like this is when the mighty and the powerful come to the realization that it is the simple and the ordinary that eventually make the choice,” a smiling Ruto told journalists after becoming one of the first voters.
“I look forward to our victorious day,” he added.
He urged Kenyans to be peaceful and respect others’ choices.
Outgoing Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of the nation’s first president, cut across the usual ethnic lines and angered Ruto by backing longtime rival Odinga after their bitter 2017 election contest, but both have chosen running mates from the country’s largest ethnic group, the Kikuyu.
Odinga, 77, chose running mate Martha Karua, the first woman to be a leading contender for the deputy presidency.
“Make your voice heard,” she said after voting early in a knitted cap, a sign of the unusually cold weather in parts of the country.
Rising food and fuel prices, huge government debt, high unemployment and widespread corruption mean economic issues are at the center of an election in which unregulated campaign spending highlighted the country’s inequality, but personalities still matter.
“We need mature people to lead, not someone who abuses people. Someone who respects elders,” said 55-year-old teacher Rosemary Mulima, who arrived with friends at a polling station on the outskirts of Nairobi to find an estimated 500 people in line before dawn.
She said she had “very high” hopes for Odinga on his fifth try,
Others predicted a lower turnout than the 80 percent recorded five years ago and blamed voter apathy.
“The problems from 2017, the economy, the day to day life, are still here,” said 38-year-old shopkeeper Adrian Kibera, who was not sure he would bother to vote.
“We don’t have good choices,” he said, calling Odinga too old and Ruto too inexperienced.
Kenyans are hoping for a peaceful vote. Elections can be exceptionally troubled, as in 2007 when the country exploded after Odinga claimed the vote had been stolen from him and more than 1,000 people were killed.
In 2017, the High Court overturned the election results, a first in Africa, after Odinga challenged them over irregularities. He then boycotted the new vote and proclaimed himself the “people’s president,” bringing allegations of treason. A handshake between him and Kenyatta calmed the crisis.
WAKE-UP CALL: Firms in the private sector were not taking basic precautions, despite the cyberthreats from China and Russia, a US cybersecurity official said A ninth US telecom firm has been confirmed to have been hacked as part of a sprawling Chinese espionage campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and telephone conversations of an unknown number of Americans, a top White House official said on Friday. Officials from the administration of US President Joe Biden this month said that at least eight telecommunications companies, as well as dozens of nations, had been affected by the Chinese hacking blitz known as Salt Typhoon. US Deputy National Security Adviser for Cyber and Emerging Technologies Anne Neuberger on Friday told reporters that a ninth victim
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners of war in the latest such swap that saw the release of hundreds of captives and was brokered with the help of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), officials said on Monday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that 189 Ukrainian prisoners, including military personnel, border guards and national guards — along with two civilians — were freed. He thanked the UAE for helping negotiate the exchange. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that 150 Russian troops were freed from captivity as part of the exchange in which each side released 150 people. The reason for the discrepancy in numbers
A shark attack off Egypt’s Red Sea coast killed a tourist and injured another, authorities said on Sunday, with an Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs source identifying both as Italian nationals. “Two foreigners were attacked by a shark in the northern Marsa Alam area, which led to the injury of one and the death of the other,” the Egyptian Ministry of Environment said in a statement. A source at the Italian foreign ministry said that the man killed was a 48-year-old resident of Rome. The injured man was 69 years old. They were both taken to hospital in Port Ghalib, about 50km north
MISSING: Prosecutors urged the company to move workers out of poor living conditions to hotels, but residents said many workers had already left the town Brazil has stopped issuing temporary work visas for BYD, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday, in the wake of accusations that some workers at a site owned by the Chinese electric vehicle producer had been victims of human trafficking. The announcement came days after labor authorities said they found 163 Chinese workers who had been brought to Brazil irregularly in “slavery-like” conditions at the BYD factory construction site in the northeastern state of Bahia. The workers were employed by contractor Jinjiang Group, which has denied any wrongdoing. Later, the authorities also said the workers were victims of human trafficking,
RSS