Kenyans voted for a new president Thursday for the second time in three months, despite the main opposition candidate’s call for a boycott of the latest race.
Security was tight as voters cast ballots following weeks of clashes between police and opposition supporters. In the capital city of Nairobi, where some polling stations appeared less crowded, soldiers carrying long guns and tear gas canisters hovered nearby.
The election comes after weeks of political twists and turns.
Last month, the Supreme Court took the unprecedented step of annulling incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta’s August 8 victory — in which he received 54% of the vote — after opposition leader Raila Odinga claimed the results were electronically tampered with. The court ordered the rerun Thursday.
While the high court ruling appeared to offer vindication for Odinga, the opposition leader stunned the country earlier this month when he dropped out of the race, saying the electoral commission had not implemented reforms.
Odinga urged his supporters to boycott the election, raising the possibility that millions will shun the outcome. A day before the election, activists made a last-ditch effort to stop the vote.
In the past few weeks, the nation has been bitterly divided, with supporters clashing with police in opposition strongholds and the government banning protests in some areas.
The political uncertainty has left residents of the east African economic powerhouse on edge. The election has become so divisive, it revived fears of postviolence like the country experienced in 2007, when at least 1,000 people were killed.
After Kenyatta was declared the winner in the initial vote, sporadic clashes erupted in some areas, killing at least 24 people.
Leaders urge restraint
In a televised address on the eve of Thursday’s rerun, Kenyatta urged the public to be peaceful and pledged fair treatment for all.
“After you vote — and I have said this before — please go home. Go back to your neighbor. Remember that in spite of their origin, your neighbor is your brother; your neighbor is your sister,” he said.
“How you have voted, or for that matter not voted, should not change the manner in which you relate to everyone else in our Kenyan family. Let us all maintain peace as we exercise our constitutional right to choose. “
“For those who wish not to vote, your rights are also equally protected by the very same constitution,” Kenyatta continued. “Let no one infringe on his brother or sister’s right and let everyone know that our security agencies have been deployed across the country to ensure the safety of each and every Kenyan.”
The President’s comments touched upon the issue of ethnic bonds, which are often stronger than national identity in Kenya, a country that is home to at least 40 ethnic groups.
Kenyatta hails from the country’s largest community, the Kikuyu. Mostly originating from Kenya’s central highlands, the Kikuyu have long been accused of wielding strong economic and political power in the country. Odinga is a member of the Luo community, which some say has become increasingly marginalized in recent years.
Hours before the President spoke, Odinga made a dramatic appearance at an opposition rally in Nairobi, where he addressed throngs of supporters and called for a “national resistance movement” to boycott the election.
“Do not participate in any way in the sham election,” he said. “Convince your friends, neighbors and everyone else not to participate.”
Odinga urged Kenyans who “value democracy and justice to hold vigils and prayers away from polling stations.” He also issued a call for peace within communities, saying, “Don’t look at your brother or sister with suspicion. He or she is as much of a victim as you.”
Resistance rising?
The chairman of the election board reiterated Wednesday that polling would go ahead as after the Supreme Court failed to rule on a last-minute bid by activists to stop the vote.
“All polling stations will open at 6 a.m. for Kenyans to exercise their right,” Wafula Chebukati said.
But last week, Chebukati had warned that he had no faith the country would be able to deliver a free and fair election. He said political leaders are the greatest threat to a credible vote, urging Odinga and Kenyatta to meet and discuss their differences.
Following his exodus from the presidential race, Odinga has repeatedly urged his supporters not to have anything to do with the election unless his demands for electoral reform are met, saying his coalition did not want to “facilitate another rigging of elections.”
Opposition supporter Kepher Omweri, 37, who attended Odinga’s rally, told CNN he will not vote because he feels his rights are being denied.
“I’m here to support my presidential candidate and tell the world that here in Kenya, we are being led by dictators. The people who are in power; they are there using their own powers and not those of the people,” Omweri said.
Business owner Kerry Indiazi said opposition supporters will heed Odinga’s call and violence will not be a problem.
“We will be active on social media and in all social gatherings. We will say we can’t go back to the old way of corruption and dictatorship.”
Kenyatta’s supporter, John Mwangi, woke up at dawn to vote, but said the election has lost some excitement with the opposition candidate’s boycott.
“Now I just want us to finally have peace so we can move on from this,” he said.
Fears of unrest
Observers will be closely monitoring Thursday’s election, including the Carter Center, which also had a team there in August. But it won’t be sending as many observers this time around, given the “growing insecurity, the uncertain political environment and the lack of a fully competitive election,” the organization said in a statement.
As the largest economy in East Africa, any unrest could have ripple effects far beyond the nation of 47 million people. Many view Kenya’s fate as a key indicator for stability in a region that includes the fledgling Somali government and the politically tense Sudan and South Sudan.
Polls will be open until 5 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET Thursday).