Any Westerners still in Kenya that visit the MBoards? Tell us how it's going. You are braver than us. Given what happened last time, we think we'd have left for this week just to be sure.
there were threats of violence in the USA presidential election, with obama vs romney, nothing happened, i would not worry about this either.
You might want to tell that to the families of the four policemen who were hacked to death Douglas - I'm sure that your unthinking stupidity will be of comfort to them.
Don't you remember the last Kenyan elections?
So far everything seems to be okay. Very long queues in places all throughout the country. A few small hiccups at a couple of polling stations due to the new voting systems. Due to the long queues some polling places might be staying open till midnight.
There is also a very large possibility that there will be a run-off election. To win Uhuru Kenyatta or Raila Odinga must secure over 50% of the vote, which very likely could not happen. This means there will be a special run-off election in April.
My understanding from friends in the country/people following this closely is that a run-off is almost inevitable. Because there are 8 candidates running today it will be difficult for one to get >50% of the vote. If someone does win the majority today, rigging will be suspected.
Today's vote will very likely set the stage for a run-off in April. The two leading candidates (Odinga and Kenyatta) will then scramble for endorsements from the minor presidential candidates, who are not popular nationwide but have significant sway within their constituencies. Things will likely get heated during this contest. I'm hopeful for a clean vote today, but it will not mean we're out of the woods yet.
18:24 Presidential provisional results: Uhuru Kenyatta (TNA) 55,558, Raila Odinga (ODM) 45,483, Mudavadi (UDF) 1,391, Kiyiapi (RBK) 528, Kenneth (Eagle) 444, Karua (Narc Kenya) 439, Dida (ARC) 292
Do you have to provide ID to vote in Kenya? Because we all know it's terrible voter suppression if you have to prove who you say you are at the voting booth.
18:52 Presidential provisional results: Uhuru Kenyatta (TNA) 151,858, Raila Odinga (ODM) 113,214, Mudavadi (UDF) 4,742, Kiyiapi (RBK) 1,178, Kenneth (Eagle) 1,500, Karua (Narc Kenya) 1,036,
Is Obama running? Would be cool to be president of two different countries!
So far everything seems to be okay.
At least 11 people dead, including 5 police officers, according to BBC reports. You must use a different definition of "okay" than I do.
So based on the two provisional results posted it appears Kenyatta is well on his way to winning a majority and nobody except Odinga has been able to get any substantial support. Can you say if these provisional results are all from one area or in some way not likely to be representative of the final vote?
They are generally too skinny to do much damage to each other, I wouldn't worry about that.
And Obama should win today, that will give him one legitimate presidency.
20:47 Presidential provisional results: Uhuru Kenyatta (TNA) 494,841 (57.26%); Raila Odinga (ODM) 336,609 (38.89%); Mudavadi (UDF) 20,147 (2.32%); Kiyiapi (RBK) 3,421; Kenneth (Eagle) 4,318; Karua (Narc Kenya) 3,161; Dida (ARC) 1,688; Muite (Safina) 1,005 from 3,199 of 31,981 polling stations reporting.
Those results are less than 15% reporting. There are 14 million registered voters and they estimate about 70% turnout. That means it will take about 5.1 million to win this round outright. To win without a runoff, a candidate also needs to win a majority of Kenya's 47 counties.
With less than 16% reporting, Uhuru is still short of 1 million votes and 56% of the votes and Raila is at 39.8% (650,000 votes).
I'm getting information, like BoyFromIten, from the Daily Nation:
And I'm streaming from Citizen TV:
http://www.citizentv.co.ke/live
Here's a good background article:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/03/201334247675932.html#.UTS0ld1BKw8.facebook
And yes, there were two attacks that sadly resulted in a handful of deaths. If you read the above article, it puts it in a larger context. So far, the vast majority of Kenyans have voted and are awaiting results peacefully. As an American, when I lived in Kenya, I did not like seeing articles about American elections lead with stats about how much ammunition was being purchased. As someone who loves Kenya, I don't like seeing stories like this overshadow the larger picture.
And Letsrun.com, in the chaos after the last election, no Westerners were killed. My friends still there have moved away from any possible flash points, but that leaves plenty of area to stay safe.
Can someone who knows Kenya well tell us what this quote from the BBC means:
"The US and other Western allies of Kenya have warned of possible "consequences" if Mr Kenyatta wins."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21665108
What has Kenyatta done that upsets the West? What will the consequences be?
I happen to have two Kenyans as roommates. They are each from the rival tribe of the other. They always argue about which president will be the best, however it seems that no matter which one is chosen, the other tribe will be a sore loser and try to regain power through their own methods. Apparently there was a candidate that has no ties to any tribe in Kenya, and he would have been the most peaceful, but he has been defeated. I can almost GUARANTEE that Kenya will not have peace for awhile..
The US and other countries have policies against dealing with those facing charges of crimes against humanity.
The timeline leading up to the assistant secretary of state's veiled threat is explained here:
Livewithem, don't bet against peace. The politics won't be pretty, but I strongly predict a political solution this time around. The currency markets back me up; the Kenyan shilling gained value slightly against the dollar this past week.
Of course there is violence. Anywhere there are Muslims there will be bloodshed. Islam is infiltrating Kenya and many other countries. There is an old saying going back over 1000 years: "The borders of Islam are always bloody"