KENYANS are waiting to hear the final outcome of Tuesday’s already disputed election, with President Uhuru Kenyatta holding a strong lead in provisional results that opposition candidate Raila Odinga claims were hacked.
Supporters of Odinga have said an unofficial tally shows he won. However, Kenyan election officials say only they have the authority to declare the winner, and international election observers say they have seen no signs of interference in the vote.
Violence broke out this week in some opposition strongholds in parts of the capital, Nairobi, and elsewhere while most of the nation remained calm. At least three people were killed amid clashes with police.
The election is a test of the stability that has made the East African nation of 44 million people a regional economic power.
Odinga, a former prime minister who has run unsuccessfully for president three times before, said hackers infiltrated the commission’s computer system and manipulated results against him.
The recent torture and killing of Kenya’s election official in charge of the electronic voting system has also raised concerns.
Commission chairman Wafula Chebukati has said a hacking attempt was made but it failed. Kenyatta whose father was Kenya’s president has not commented on Odinga’s claims.
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