Kenya’s Historic Elections Update

(Rila Odinga casting his vote)

Five years ago Kenya went through a horrendous experience that left permanent scars on many, and to date,  some victims continue to have nightmares from the 2007/2008 bloodbath that left 1,300 people dead, 6,333,921 displaced, and property worth billions of shillings destroyed after the disputed presidential elections.

On Monday, 4th of March 2013, Kenyans went to the poll again in what has been termed  a Historic Election, and this time under a new constitution which many have pegged citizens' hopes of bringing sanity back in the country.

The world is closely monitoring the elections as they anticipate another bloodbath, but Kenyans who are still waiting with bated breath for the results to be announced by the end of the day (6th March), the third day since they cast their votes, have stunned the world as they voted peacefully on Monday with few incidences here and there but with nothing worthy of international press.

Kenyans who have for the last five years spoken in one voice preaching peace through music, rallies, social Media, peace concerts, radio and TV have vowed never to go the 2007 road again.

Post elections violence hot spots Mathare and Kibera, one of the biggest slums in the world, voted peacefully and surprised the international media watchdogs who anticipated some kind of violence in those areas. Apart from the introduction of the electronic voting and the Alphabet style of queuing which confused a few voters, everything went smoothly.

         (Both the old and young came out to vote)

In Mombasa, a renowned tourist destination, 6 policemen are believed to have been killed by an outlawed Militia group, Mombasa Republic Council (MRC) who has for the past few months been asking for cessation from Kenya, but voting continued peacefully though residents there are in high alert.

As of now the counting is ongoing, and out of 8 presidential hopefuls, two are in the leads; Uhuru Kenyatta of the National Alliance is leading with 2,807,849 while his Coalition for Reforms and Democracy counterpart Raila Odinga is following with 2,214,202 votes.

Everything is at standstill as Kenyans are waiting for the results, and they have been urged to continue maintaining peace by aspirants and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) now and after the presidential results are announced.

So far it appears that Kenyans are ready to move away from the past and create a new future for their beloved country.