Kenyan politicians and officials have called on voters to respect the results in the country’s general election, amid fears that angry losers could take the bitter power struggle to the streets.

Millions queued through the day and late into the evening on Tuesday, waiting patiently to cast their votes in an election seen as a key test of the stability of one of Africa’s most important states.

Long queues had formed in Nairobi, the capital, even before polling stations opened at 6am and the fiercely contested elections got under way.

The election pits the incumbent, Uhuru Kenyatta, in power since 2013, against the veteran opposition politician Raila Odinga. No clear leader emerged during campaigning.

It is unclear exactly when final results would be available, with counting due to begin only after the last polling stations had closed. Some, where voting had been delayed by rain on technical hitches, remained open well into the evening.

Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has said the winner may be known as early as Wednesday morning.

Kenyatta, 55, called on his rivals to “accept the will of the people … in the event that they lose.”



“I am willing, myself, to accept the will of the people. Let us pull this country together and let us move forward as one nation,” he said.

Odinga told reporters he had only prepared a victory speech but observers in Nairobi described the absence of any serious criticism of the conduct of the polls on Tuesday from the opposition as “encouraging”.

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga and the country’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, cast their vote during the presidential election. Photograph: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters

An estimated 180,000 police officers and members of other security forces have been deployed around Kenya to ensure order. Violence after elections in 2007 killed more than a thousand people.

Most voters who spoke to the Guardian at a dozen polling stations in wealthy and poorer areas in Nairobi during the day said they were hopeful the current calm would continue, whatever the result.

“Kenyans have become more mature in the way they vote. Many would prefer peace to violence. Especially young people are against all kinds of electoral violence,” said Boniface Odhiambo, 26, as he cast his vote in Kibera, Nairobi’s largest slum and an opposition stronghold.

About half of eligible voters are under 35 and levels of registration of younger voters has been reported as high.

Pheisa Omonga, 20, had cast her ballot in Kilamani, a wealthy central neighbourhood. “It’s really exciting. Kenya is definitely changing for the better. I am optimistic about the future. I am not worried about violence,” she said.

First-time voters could have a major impact on the result. “Younger votes tend to be more willing to go for change. Overall, ethnicity is the best predictor of vote choice, but there are important variations in other social categories. For example younger, urban and male voters are more likely to back the opposition while older, rural and female voters are more likely to support the government,” said Nic Cheeseman, an expert in African politics at the University of Birmingham.

The campaign was marred by hundreds of violent incidents, including the murder of a high-profile election official.

In recent days, bus stations have been busy as many Kenyans have left major cities for provincial areas which are seen as safe. Others have stockpiled groceries, phone cards and other essentials.

Election officials have broadcast videos calling on voters to accept that in a “healthy democracy” there are “winners and losers” while former US president Barack Obama, whose father was born in Kenya, led a chorus of international calls on the eve of the vote for a violence-free election.

In Kibera, queues of thousands of people snaked across wasteland and through narrow lanes lined by tin-roofed shacks.

Maasai women wait in line to cast their votes at a polling station in Iloodokilani in Kajiado county, 100km south of Nairobi. Photograph: Dai Kurokawa/EPA

“Since morning I was here, waiting for the queue to move so I can vote for someone to make our country better,” said Alex Makau, 26 and unemployed.

Many observers had predicted young people would not turn out to vote in large numbers. This did not appear to be the case. Few appeared bothered by the lengthy wait, which some officials said was due to new electronic counting systems introduced to try to cut down voter fraud.

Most voters said they were confident the precautions taken by Kenyan electoral officials would prevent rigging.

Odinga, who is making his fourth attempt to gain power, has claimed elections in 2007 and 2013 were stolen from him. It was his challenge to the results of the polls 10 years ago that prompted rioting and retaliation by security forces, which tipped the country into its worst crisis for decades. Much of the violence was between young men from different ethnic communities.

The two candidates in the poll belong to two of the country’s main ethnic groups, Kenyatta from the Kikuyu, the largest, and Odinga from the Luo. Both have built coalitions with other influential communities in a country where voting still takes place largely along ethnic lines.

However, there are signs this is changing, with younger, more urban and better-educated voters playing down such identities.

“It is different now. Some years back people normally voted just for tribe. Now it is more about if the candidate would bring some change to their lives,” said Chabkaya, a 26-year-old in Kibera who was made redundant from her cleaning job this year.

Kenyatta’s first term prompted a massive infrastructure drive and steady economic growth, making Kenya one of the best-performing economies in Africa.

However, his record has been undermined by soaring food prices, enduring high unemployment and massive corruption scandals.

Quick Guide What are the issues in the Kenyan election? Show Economy The Kenyan economy is one of the best performing in Africa, with consistently high growth rates in recent years and massive infrastructural development. Yet inequality has endured, unemployment is high and the poor hit particularly hard in recent months by a sharp rise in the price of basic foodstuffs. Tribe and ethnicity All voters face these economic issues but tribe or ethnic loyalty could be a greater factor in their eventual choice of leader. There are more than 40 such communities in Kenya and, though slowly weakening with urbanisation and education, identities remain very powerful. Politics is often seen as a brutal competition for resources and when violence broke out after the 2007 poll it was along ethnic lines. Personalities In a campaign that has been typically thin on ideology, personal appeal counts. Both presidential candidates can count on the loyalty of members of their ethnic communities and have run massive, energetic and hugely expensive campaigns. But both have weaknesses: Raila Odinga is seen as old, and has already failed repeatedly to gain power, while Uhuru Kenyatta has been tarnished in recent years by corruption allegations and has disappointed many who voted for him in 2013.



Dolphin Masese, a lawyer who voted in upmarket Kilmani, said young voters had different expectations from their parents. “We want more from our leaders. We are more aware of our power. We now understand our power to change things,” Masese, 24, said.

Masese’s 56-year-old mother, Rose, said she had always “just accepted that politicians will be politicians” but her children did not.

Observers see the election as the last showdown of a dynastic rivalry between the families of Kenyatta, 55, and Odinga, 72, that has lasted more than half a century.

The presidential candidates’ fathers, Jomo Kenyatta and Jaramogi Odinga, went from allies in the struggle for independence from Britain to bitter rivals.

Some voters were more combative in their attitudes, however. “If we lose, then we will wait for our leader Raila [Odinga] to speak. If he says it is OK, then it is OK. If he says fight, we will fight,” said Abraham Ashidiva, 24, as he joined the long file of neighbours outside a Kibera polling station as drizzle turned to hazy sunshine around noon.

A boy stands with his parents, all wearing suits in the colours of the Kenyan flag, as they wait to vote in Gatundu, north of Nairobi. Photograph: Ben Curtis/AP







