Kenyans Begin Voting for New President

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, December 27, 2002

Kenyans Begin Voting for New President

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Voting for a new president in Kenya to take place of Daniel arap Moi, who has been in power for 24 years and is constitutionally barred from running again, started early Friday morning across the African country.

More than 10.45 million Kenyans streamed to 14,000 polling stations on foot, by bicycle and in packed minibuses to cast their ballots.

"I've voted for Uhuru because he is young and energetic. And he has never worked in government, so he is not corrupt," said Dominic Njuguna, a young man who has just cast his ballot in Gatundu, Uhuru Kenyatta's hometown some 50 km north of Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.

"I know Kibaki is a capable person so I choose him. I've been known him since 1954," said Gtonga Mbuphia, a retired revenue official, queuing to vote in Othaya, Mwai Kibaki's hometown 150 km north of Nairobi.

When casting his vote at 6:35 a.m. (0935 GMT) at the Sacho polling station of the Baringo central constituency in Rift ValleyProvince, Kenyan President Moi reaffirmed his commitment to handing over presidential power to whoever wins the ongoing general elections.

He said that he would respect the wishes of the Kenyan electorate and that nobody should associate him with any degree of reluctance in handing over power.

The voting will last 12 hours during the day between 6 a.m. (0300 GMT) and 6 p.m. (1500 GMT) and the electoral commission is expected to announce the winner of the presidential election the following day or on Sunday.

Voters will also elect members of parliament and civic councils.

Some 40,000 international and domestic observers, including 140 officials of the European Union, are already deployed in the country to ensure a fair and just election.

Competing in the presidential race are five candidates and the main two are Uhuru Kenyatta, 41, of the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) and Mwai Kibaki, 71, of the opposition National Rainbow Coalition (NARC).

Kenyatta cast his ballot in his rural hometown Gatundu some 50 km north of Nairobi Friday morning, while Kibaki voted in his hometown Othaya, 150 km north of Nairobi.

The landmark election is seen as the most competitive as it is the first time since the country introduced multiparty politics in 1991 that the major opposition political parties have jointly fielded a single candidate, Kibaki, in the presidential race.

Analysts here say the outcome will not only have a long-term impact on Kenya but also on the whole east African region, as Moi has been a strong advocate for regional integration and played an important role in mediating regional conflicts and Kenya has been described as "a safe island in turbulent waters."

They say the election has proved to be tough both for Kibaki and Kenyatta.

Kibaki has taken advantage of the country's current economic decline and people's popular hope for a change, while Kenyatta has played up his youth, saying that only a young generation of leaders can bring a fresh start.

In recent years, Kenya has experienced its worst economic recession due to a variety of factors, which experts said include poor management, corruption, suspending of donors' funds as well as floods and droughts.

The economic globalization, the collapse of international coffee prices and the "9.11" terrorist attacks on the United States have also taken a heavy toll on the Kenyan economy.

In 2000, Kenya witnessed the first negative economic growth since it gained independence from Britain in 1963, and last year, its gross domestic product only grew by 1.2 percent.

Under such circumstances, many Kenyans turn their discontent towards the government and hope that a new one will bring a change to the country.

"It is really hard to predict who will win the presidential election," a Nairobi-based diplomat said.

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