Kenyatta likely to win Kenya’s elections

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Presidential frontrunner Uhuru Kenyatta is allegedly winning the elections till now. The vote count till Friday gives prominent lead to Kenyatta over other candidate. Results from over a quarter of constituencies are still to be announced. Kenyatta’s arch-rival, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his party still seem confident to win.

South Africa is hoping for the tallying to end in a peaceful manner. However, the tallying process is already under criticism as both sides claim the results were doctored. Kenyatta’s party is concerned over the sluggish vote count process.

Over 1100 innocent people were killed and hundreds of thousands forced to flee their homes during post-elections bloodshed in 2007. Odinga and Kenyatta have both publicly vowed there will be no repeat of the 2007-2008 bloodshed that broke out over the counting process.

Michael Amoah of the Africa International Affairs Programme at the London School of Economics said, “If Kenyatta wins, there will definitely be sanctions against Kenya.”

The elections were closely watched by the United States and Western donors who time and again showed concern over the stability of a nation seen as a regional ally in the fight against religious extremism. Inspector general of Kenyan police, David Kimaiyo, claimed to be keenly observing the elections. He affirmed that he would not allow demonstrations anywhere in the country.

“There were a lot of jitters around the elections,” said Dickson Magecha, a senior trader at Standard Chartered Bank. “But there are indications we might see a first-round victory, which is good for political risk, and the vote went on peacefully without any major hitches.”