Post-vote violence eases in Kenya as opp urges restraint

Bloomberg

An uneasy calm prevailed in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and the west of the country after two days of running battles between the security forces and supporters of the main opposition, which boycotted a court-ordered repeat of presidential elections.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga pulled out of the October 26 rerun, after the electoral commission failed to heed his demands to replace staff who oversaw an August 8 vote that the Supreme Court annulled because proper procedures weren’t followed. Voting was disrupted in several opposition strongholds as his supporters barricaded roads and hurled stones at police, who responded by firing teargas and live ammunition. At least eight people were killed, local newspapers reported.
“Today is calm, we have no big problems,” Leonard Katana, police commander for the western Nyanza region, where violence forced the delay of election in four districts, said by phone. “We are slowly going back to normal.”
The election turmoil has dimmed the growth outlook in Kenya, one of Africa’s top performers over the past decade, with consumers paring back spending and companies putting projects on hold. While preliminary tallies showed President Uhuru Kenyatta, 56, on track to win 98 percent of the vote, Odinga has rejected the results and called for fresh elections within 90 days. The outcome is almost certain to be challenged in court on the grounds that the vote wasn’t free and fair, according to Charles Kanjama, managing partner at Muma & Kanjama Advocates.
Even if Kenyatta does hold onto office for a second term, he’ll face a challenge in asserting his authority and rebuilding battered investor confidence, given that less than half of registered voters cast ballots and no voting occurred at 3,635 of the 40,883 polling stations. There was a 79 percent turnout in the August election.
“The boycott was a success,” Dismas Mokua, an analyst at Nairobi-based risk advisory firm Trintari, said by phone. “National prosperity has been compromised. The voter turnout de-legitimizes the Uhuru Kenyatta win.”