{"id":64392,"date":"2022-08-10T12:50:55","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T12:50:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race"},"modified":"2022-08-10T13:49:56","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T13:49:56","slug":"kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race","title":{"rendered":"Kenyans vote in close-fought election race"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. <\/strong><\/span>Kenyans voted largely peacefully on Tuesday as two political heavyweights battled it out in a high-stakes race for the presidency of the East African powerhouse.<\/p>\n

The country is hoping for an orderly transition of power after almost a decade under two-term President Uhuru Kenyatta, but concerns about vote-rigging linger after past election disputes spiralled into bloodshed.<\/p>\n

Deputy President and erstwhile heir apparent William Ruto, 55, is running against Raila Odinga, the 77-year-old veteran opposition leader now backed by longtime rival Kenyatta after a stunning shift in allegiances.<\/p>\n

Across the nation, voters lined up well before dawn to cast their ballots in what has been billed as a key test for democracy in a country where ordinary people have increasingly become disenchanted with the political elite.<\/p>\n

Many said they hoped it could improve their lives, as they struggle to put food on the table amid soaring inflation and with millions going hungry because of a crippling drought.<\/p>\n

By noon, six hours after polling began, turnout was at just over 30 percent of the 22 million registered voters, according to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.<\/p>\n

Comparable figures for the August 2017 election were not immediately available but overall turnout then reached 78 percent.<\/p>\n

Incidents of delays in opening polling stations and problems with electronic voter registration equipment were reported in several areas.<\/p>\n

– Hope for ‘transparent’ vote –<\/b><\/p>\n

Pressure is on the IEBC to ensure a free and fair vote in all six polls — for the presidency as well as for senators, governors, lawmakers, woman representatives and some 1,500 county officials.<\/p>\n

The IEBC — which has a budget of almost $350 million for the vote — acknowledged that about 200 electronic devices had failed, out of a total of more than 46,000.<\/p>\n

In Wajir, a county on the border with Somalia, a gunfight left election officials trapped inside an office where ballots were stored, and polling has been suspended there, the IEBC said.<\/p>\n

Police also fired tear gas after youths blocked a road with burning tyres in Nakuru county in western Kenya after a local vote was suspended.<\/p>\n

No presidential election outcome has gone uncontested since 2002, and there will be an anxious wait for this year’s results which are not expected for several days.<\/p>\n

“This election is different from the others, it’s way (more) calm and peaceful,” 52-year-old mother of five Joyce Kosgei said in the Rift Valley village where Ruto cast his ballot.<\/p>\n

Analysts have suggested that Odinga, a onetime political prisoner and former prime minister who is making his fifth stab at the presidency, could edge past his younger rival.<\/p>\n

If neither wins more than 50 percent, Kenya would have to hold a run-off for the first time in its history.<\/p>\n

Ruto has painted the election as a battle between ordinary “hustlers” and “dynasties” — the Kenyatta and Odinga families that have dominated Kenyan politics since independence from Britain in 1963.<\/p>\n

Since neither man belongs to the dominant Kikuyu tribe, which has produced three of the country’s four presidents, the election will open a new chapter in Kenya’s history.<\/p>\n

– ‘I want change’ –<\/b><\/p>\n

Kenya’s international partners are closely watching the vote in a country deemed a beacon of regional stability.<\/p>\n

Both Odinga and Ruto have urged a peaceful election, but fears remain that if the loser challenges the outcome — as widely expected — there could be unrest.<\/p>\n

Security is tight, with more than 150,000 officers deployed across the country of about 50 million.<\/p>\n

The trauma of the 2007 poll, which was followed by politically motivated ethnic clashes that killed more than 1,100 people, runs deep.<\/p>\n

Odinga’s challenge to the 2017 election result that saw then foe Kenyatta re-elected was met with a heavy-handed police response that left dozens dead.<\/p>\n

Some observers say economic pressure could vie with tribal allegiance as the big motivator for voters in a country where a third of the population lives in poverty.<\/p>\n

Lawyers David Mwaure and George Wajackoyah — an eccentric former spy who wants to legalise marijuana — are also standing for president but are likely to trail far behind the frontrunners.<\/p>\n

If Odinga wins, his running mate Martha Karua would become deputy president, the first woman to hold the post.<\/p>\n

The new president will have to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, youth unemployment, a $70-billion debt mountain and entrenched corruption.<\/p>\n

Already battered by the Covid pandemic which threw hundreds of thousands out of work, Kenyans are now suffering from the Ukraine war, which has sent food and fuel prices spiralling.<\/p>\n

“I have come to vote to pick someone who bring change to this country,” said unemployed 34-year-old Ruth Iminza as she cast her ballot in the Nairobi slum of Kibera.<\/p>\n

“Everything has gone up including school fees for our children.”<\/p>\n

***AFP***<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Kenya<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. Kenyans voted largely peacefully on Tuesday as two political heavyweights battled it out in a high-stakes race for the presidency of the East African powerhouse. The country is hoping for an orderly transition of power after almost a decade under two-term President Uhuru Kenyatta, but concerns about vote-rigging linger after past election […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":64391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,8,12,16],"tags":[6857,7003,8873,544,8683,8742],"class_list":["post-64392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-policy","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-kenya","tag-election-polls","tag-kenya","tag-kenya-politics","tag-presidential-in-kenya"],"yoast_head":"\nKenyans vote in close-fought election race - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kenyans voted largely peacefully on Tuesday as two political heavyweights battled it out in a high-stakes race for the p ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kenyans vote in close-fought election race\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kenyans voted largely peacefully on Tuesday as two political heavyweights battled it out in a high-stakes race for the p ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-08-10T12:50:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-10T13:49:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_3-62f3b768e0ef7.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"538\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Kenyans vote in close-fought election race\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-10T12:50:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-10T13:49:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race\"},\"wordCount\":799,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_3-62f3b768e0ef7.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Kenya\",\"election polls\",\"Kenya\",\"Kenya politics\",\"Presidential in Kenya\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"homepage-english\",\"policy\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race\",\"name\":\"Kenyans vote in close-fought election race - kenya\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_3-62f3b768e0ef7.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-08-10T12:50:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-10T13:49:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Kenyans voted largely peacefully on Tuesday as two political heavyweights battled it out in a high-stakes race for the p ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_3-62f3b768e0ef7.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_3-62f3b768e0ef7.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":538,\"caption\":\"Kenyans vote in close-fought election race\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kenyans vote in close-fought election race\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/\",\"name\":\"kenya\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kenyans vote in close-fought election race - kenya","description":"Kenyans voted largely peacefully on Tuesday as two political heavyweights battled it out in a high-stakes race for the p ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kenyans vote in close-fought election race","og_description":"Kenyans voted largely peacefully on Tuesday as two political heavyweights battled it out in a high-stakes race for the p ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race","og_site_name":"kenya","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2022-08-10T12:50:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-10T13:49:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":538,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_3-62f3b768e0ef7.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Kenyans vote in close-fought election race","datePublished":"2022-08-10T12:50:55+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-10T13:49:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race"},"wordCount":799,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_3-62f3b768e0ef7.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Kenya","election polls","Kenya","Kenya politics","Presidential in Kenya"],"articleSection":["all news","head lines","homepage-english","policy","twitter"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race","name":"Kenyans vote in close-fought election race - kenya","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_3-62f3b768e0ef7.jpg","datePublished":"2022-08-10T12:50:55+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-10T13:49:56+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Kenyans voted largely peacefully on Tuesday as two political heavyweights battled it out in a high-stakes race for the p ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_3-62f3b768e0ef7.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2022\/08\/postQueueImg_3-62f3b768e0ef7.jpg","width":1024,"height":538,"caption":"Kenyans vote in close-fought election race"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-vote-in-close-fought-election-race#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kenyans vote in close-fought election race"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/","name":"kenya","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}