By Kenyans on Tuesday started voting in a fiercely contested election between incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta and his greatest and long time political rival Raila Odinga.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has voted from his birthplace of Gatundu, found in the North of Nairobi. The President, Kenyatta, to the polling station was accompanied by his wife, Margret, his mother and two of his three sons.
“I feel good. I feel positive because we ran a peaceful campaign,” said Mr. Kenyatta after casting his vote.
“Peace. Peace. Peace,” he continued, “I say peace because Kenya was here before and it will be here after today.”
Mr. Kenyatta urged voters to vote peacefully and go home to wait for the results. Kenyatta according to the reports is seeking for a second and final term in the office.
Raila Odinga, the main opposition challenger on the other side, voted in a poor area of Kibera. After casting his vote, Mr. Odinga is reported to have urged his supporters to gather on Wednesday in a downtown park, for what he said will be a celebration.
“Uhuru must go” chanted Raila’s supporters who by “Uhuru” were reffering to President Uhuru Kenyatta.
John Mahama, chief election observer for the Commonwealth and the once President of Ghana, commented and expressed how impressed he was by the voter turnout, and the calmness of the situation.
“There have been no incidents so far. Voting seems to be going smoothly and I think it is a good sign for Kenyan democracy,” said Mahama.
Kenya has 20 million registered voters out of a population of more than 40 million people.
Election officials say the winner of Kenya’s presidential race must get more than 50 percent of the votes as well as one-quarter or more votes in at least 24 of Kenya’s 47 counties.
Vote counting is expected to start immediately and the results are expected within 24 to 48 hours. However, authorities have up to a week to deliver official and final results.
Reporter: Shamilah Namuddu