AT least 17 people have been killed in Kenya as voting took place yesterday in an election that observers have described as the most important in the country’s history.
Agencies
Officials and candidates have made impassioned appeals to avoid a repeat of the ethnic rampages that erupted following the disputed result of the 2007 election.
More than 1 200 people were killed, shattering Kenya’s reputation as one of Africa’s most stable democracies and bringing its economy to a standstill.
Kenya adopted a new constitution in 2010 to allow for freer elections.
Authorities suspect at least one of today’s attacks was carried out by members of a coastal separatist group.
The group threatened to disrupt voting if their demand for secession of the Indian Ocean coastal strip was not met.
Senior police officers said the death toll comprised nine security officers, two civilians and six attackers.
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As in 2007, the race has come down to a head-to-head between two candidates, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.
Both will depend heavily on votes from loyalists from their ethnic groups.
Kenya’s neighbours are watching nervously, after their economies felt the shockwaves when violence five years ago shut down trade routes running through East Africa’s biggest economy.
Some landlocked states have stockpiled fuel and other materials. The US and other countries are worried about the election in a country seen as a vital ally in the regional battle against militant Islam.
Adding to election tensions, al-Shabaab militants, battling Kenyan peacekeeping troops in Somalia, issued veiled threats before the vote.
As of last night election results were trickling in. (See also story on the Centre spread)
