Kenya's president leads in early election returns, but rival claims hacking and 'fraud'
Kenya held national elections on Tuesday, pitting President Uhuru Kenyatta, 55, against main opposition leader Raila Odinga (pictured) and six other candidates. According to preliminary results, Kenyatta, the son of Kenya's founding president, held a significant lead over Odinga, 72, with the other candidates barely registering. If the results hold, with Kenyatta leading 54.5 percent to Odinga's 44.6 percent, the president would win a second term outright, without a second round of voting. On Wednesday, Odinga claimed that the results had been tampered with.
"Hackers gained entry into our election database" and "created errors," Odinga said at a news conference. "You can only cheat the people for so long," he added. "The 2017 general election was a fraud." Kenyans fear a repeat of the violence a decade ago that followed a disputed election, which Odinga lost, ending in more than 1,100 Kenyans dead and 600,000 more displaced. Kenyatta's Jubilee Party called for calm and patience. Kenyatta beat Odinga in the last election, and their fathers were rivals in the 1960s.
The election itself was largely violence-free, though there were problems with cellphone service that slowed down the reporting of results to the election commission, the commission said. There was even one "heartening moment," when a woman gave birth while standing in line to vote in West Pocket, BBC News reports. "New mother Pauline Chemanang called the circumstances of the birth a 'blessing' and called her baby Kura, Swahili for 'ballot.'"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Israel concedes it may not be able to destroy Hamas
Speed Read Despite five months of war in Gaza, Israeli intelligence officials admit the militant group eludes them
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump gets $289M break, first criminal trial date
Speed Read The former president's fraud bond has been reduced to $175 million from $464 million
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US-Israel rift widens after UN cease-fire resolution
Speed Read The U.S. declined to veto a U.N. resolution calling for a two-week "immediate cease-fire" in Gaza
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New Jersey first lady exits race to replace Menendez
Speed Read Tammy Murphy dropping out paves the way for Rep. Andy Kim to become the state's next senator
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Russia blames Ukraine for deadly ISIS Moscow attack
Speed Read Putin has ignored the Islamic State's claim of responsibility for the concert hall shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump-RNC pact puts Trump legal bills ahead of GOP
Speed Read The former president has struck a deal with the Republican National Committee to put donations toward his legal bills
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Vietnam president resigns amid scandal
Speed Read Vietnam loses its second president in two years as Vo Van Thuong steps down
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published