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Chaos
erupts at Kenya election count |
Sat 29 Dec
2007, 16:01 GMT
(Adds other incidents)
By Andrew Cawthorne and George Obulutsa
NAIROBI, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Chaos broke out
at Kenya's main ballot results centre on
Saturday when an opposition politician
repeatedly demanded a recount in one
constituency, prompting scuffles, shouting
and police intervention.
Tension reached boiling point late on
Saturday afternoon, as Electoral Commission
of Kenya (ECK) results showed opposition
leader Raila Odinga just ahead of President
Mwai Kibaki with about a fifth of results
left to come in.
Both sides have claimed victory and
accusations of vote rigging have sparked
ethnic violence across the country.
In Nairobi, officials' attempts to read out
the results were heckled by angry party
members frustrated by the slow pace of the
count. At one point the process was halted
when the election board chairman was driven
from the stage.
James Orengo, of the Orange Democratic
Movement, grabbed a microphone to stop ECK
Chairman Samuel Kivuitu reading out figures
disputed by the opposition. Paramilitary
police then rushed in to calm tempers.
"Nobody can push me, not even you!" Kivuitu
told politicians as he resumed his seat ten
minutes later. "But if it is impossible for
me to carry on (with) my work, I can go
home."
"We are Kenyans, not beasts," added Kivuitu,
who has set up the ECK headquarters at a
Nairobi conference centre, surrounded by
armed guards to guard against protests
outside.
At one point, a pastor and presidential
candidate grabbed the microphone to calm the
whistling and shouting crowd by bowing his
head to pray for peace.
"Almighty God, whoever wins, we pray there
will not be bloodshed," said Pius Mwangi
Muiru -- an also-ran for the presidency --
as several hundred journalists, party
members and election officials also clasped
their hands in prayer.
Government heavyweight Martha Karua stood up
after one scuffle to bellow into a
microphone: "This election should be won by
the ballot, not by shouting."
A Kenyan TV anchorwoman let slip an
unfortunate comment live on air as her
station beamed images of the chaos.
"These guys don't know how to rig properly,
like Moi used to," she said, referring to
the fraud-ridden era of former President
Daniel arap Moi.
As both sides claimed victory, Kivuitu urged
restraint with his typical dry wit.
"How many times have we met mad people on
the road saying 'I own this shop,' and the
man has no trousers?" he asked. "I can even
announce that I am president of Kenya. Will
that make me president of Kenya?" (Editing
by Michael Winfrey)
© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved |
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