Kenya: Awaiting election results

Millions of Kenyans poured into polling stations on March 4, to cast their ballots in a crucial presidential election. Voter turnout was tremendous, starting hours before dawn, with lines of voters stretching nearly a mile long. Some voters waited nine hours on their feet in the hot sun to cast their ballot. The presidential election was the first since 2007 which ushered in months of tribal violence that killed more than 1,000 people and displaced 600,000 from their homes. Election officials in Kenya are now counting ballots by hand after abandoning the electronic tabulation system. With about a quarter of votes counted, Uhuru Kenyatta, the scion of a political family who has been accused by the International Criminal Court of financing death squads, held a commanding lead of 55 percent to 41 percent over the second-place candidate, Raila Odinga, Kenya's prime minister. Election observers cautioned that the preliminary results might not be representative of the countrywide vote. Kenyans await the results. -- Paula Nelson ( 40 photos total)

Kenyan soldiers exit the St Theresa Girl School, used as a polling and counting station as preliminary results trickle in for the general election in the Mathare area of Nairobi, Kenya, March 6, 2013. Kenya on Monday held its first presidential election since the 2007 vote which ushered in months of tribal violence that killed more than 1,000 people and displaced 600,000 from their homes. (Jerome Delay/Associated Press)

Kenyan soldiers guard the St Theresa Girl School, March 6, 2013. Kenya on Monday held its first presidential election since the 2007 vote. vote. (Jerome Delay/Associated Press)#

Kenyan election volunteers wrap up the counting of ballots for the general election at St Theresa Girl School, used as a polling and counting station, in the Mathare area of Nairobi, Kenya, March 6, 2013. (Jerome Delay/Associated Press)#

Kenyan election volunteers cheer as they wrap up the counting of ballots, March 6, 2013. (Jerome Delay/Associated Press)#

Kenyan soldiers guard the St Theresa Girl School, used as a polling and counting station, as preliminary results trickle in for the general election, in the Mathare area of Nairobi, Kenya, March 6, 2013. (Jerome Delay/Associated Press)#

An officer of the prisons service helps to carry ballot boxes for stacking after their results were tallied, at a vote tallying center in Nairobi, Kenya, March 5, 2013. (Ben Curtis/Associated Press)#

Official representatives of the various political parties and electoral workers discuss while reviewing newly received results, at the National Tallying Center in Nairobi, Kenya, March 6, 2013. Election officials in Kenya are hand counting ballots from the nation's presidential election after abandoning the electronic tabulation system. (Ben Curtis/Associated Press)#

An electoral worker engages in a part of the tally verification process at the National Tallying Center in Nairobi, Kenya, March 6, 2013. Election officials in Kenya are hand counting the ballots from the nation's presidential election after abandoning the electronic tabulation system which has posted early returns. (Ben Curtis/Associated Press)#

An officer of the prisons service who helped to carry ballot boxes for stacking, walks past rows of them at a vote tallying center in Nairobi, Kenya, March 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis/Associated Press)#

Kenyan men watch television in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, March 5, 2013, as preliminary results trickle in for the general election. (Jerome Delay/Associated Press)#

Kenyans watch the provisional results for the presidential candidates as they are announced on television, at a restaurant in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, March 5, 2013. Kenyan presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta, who faces charges at the International Criminal Court, took an early lead as votes were counted the day after the country's presidential election. (Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin/Associated Press)#

An electoral agent uses a mobile phone to tally votes during the presidential and parliamentary elections in Kisumu, 350km (218 miles) west of the capital Nairobi, March 5, 2013. Kenyan presidential hopeful Uhuru Kenyatta opened an early lead as the east African nation counted ballots in an election that brought out millions of voters despite pockets of violence. (Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)#

A policeman moves ballot boxes at Saint Teresa's Girls High School, March 5, 2013. (Noor Khamis/Reuters)#

Official's from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) work at a tallying centre at Mathare slum in Nairobi, March 6, 2013. Kenyan authorities were racing to gather final election results, after a partial count gave the lead to a politician wanted in The Hague. Counting has been slow and complicated by hitches in a new electronic system. (Karel Prinsloo/Reuters)#

Members of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) gesture as they wait to hear if their candidate won a seat in the parliamentary elections at a tallying centre at Mathare slum in Nairobi, March 6, 2013. (Karel Prinsloo/Reuters)#

A woman walks by the beach of Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, March 6, 2013, as the country awaits election results. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)#

A woman holding her child walks out of her house in the Mishomoroni area of Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa March 6, 2013. The country awaits official election results. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)#

Children play soccer in the Mishomoroni area of Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, March 6, 2013. Residents await the final election results. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)#

Official's from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) stand next to ballot boxes in a tallying centre at Mathare slum in Nairobi, March 6, 2013. Kenyan authorities were racing to gather final election results. Politicians have complained about flaws in the process, stirring fears of a repeat of the troubles after the election five years ago. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)#

A barber gives a man a haircut at Mishomoroni area of Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa, March 6, 2013. Residents await official election results. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)#

Akida Ramadan, shows his wounds from an attack by masked men on the eve of the elections, at his house at Mishomoroni area of Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa March 6, 2013. (Marko Djurica/Reuters)#

A political party representative sleeps in a tallying centre at Mathare slum in Nairobi, March 6, 2013. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)#

A plain clothed policeman stands in front of ballot boxes in a tallying centre at Mathare slum in Nairobi, March 6, 2013. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)#

Supporters of Prime Minister Raila Odinga's Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) celebrate after their parliamentary candidate won a seat in the parliamentary elections at a tallying centre in Mathare slum in Nairobi March 6, 2013. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)#

A woman waits outside a tallying centre as a Kenyan police officer guards the gate at Mathare slum in Nairobi March 6, 2013. (Karel Prinsloo/Reuters)#

Electoral workers engage in the vote tally verification process at the National Tallying Center in Nairobi, Kenya, March 6, 2013. Election officials in Kenya are hand counting ballots from the nation's presidential election after abandoning the electronic tabulation system which has posted early returns. (Ben Curtis/Associated Press)#

A member of the electoral staff organizes ballot boxes at a tallying center in Nairobi, Kenya, March 5, 2013. (Dai Kurokawa/EPA)#

Posters of Raila Odinga remained largely untouched in his traditional stronghold of Kibera a day after Kenyans voted, Kenya, March 5, 2013. The results of the general election are yet to be determined. Some 14.3 million people were registered to vote. Turnout was expected to be above the 70-per-cent mark reached in 2007. (Kabir Dhanji/EPA)#

Kibera slum on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, March 6, 2013, while residents are waiting for the results of the presidential elections. With more than 40 per cent of the ballots counted, provisional results from Kenya's presidential race showed Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta holding a lead over his rival, Premier Raila Odinga. (Felix Dlangamandla/EPA)#

Two charcoal vendors listen to news on a radio as they wait with millions of Kenyans for the final vote count in Nairobi, Kenya, March 6, 2013. (Daniel Irungu/EPA)#

Access to St. Theresa School in Mathare, Nairobi, was closely guarded after the school became the center of attention in an emotionally charged election for the Member of Parliament, forcing a significant military presence at the polling and counting station. (Kabir Dhanji/EPA)#

St. Theresa School was the center of attention in an emotionally charged local election for the Member of Parliament seat in Mathare, Nairobi, forcing a significant military presence at the polling and counting station amidst agitated observers and supporters, Nairobi, Kenya, March 6, 2013. (Kabir Dhanji/EPA)#

Supporters of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and its leader and presidential aspirant Prime Minister Raila Odinga celebrate after their candidate is declared a winner in the County Representative elections, at a tallying center near the Mathare slum, Nairobi, Kenya, March 6, 2013.(Dai Kurokawa/EPA)#

A poll official stacks ballot boxes that have been tallied on March 5, 2013, next to an armed security officer standing guard over the results at a tallying centre in Kakamega, western Kenya, a day after the country held national elections. Kenyans nervously eyed results on March 5 trickling in a day after they turned out peacefully en masse for critical presidential elections, the first since disputed polls five years ago triggered a wave of bloodletting. (Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images)#

Men watch the incoming provisional election results on a television outside a shop in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya's capital, March 5, 2013. (Phil Moore/AFP/Getty Images)#

People gather around a newspaper stand in the area of Kangele slums, March 6, 2013 in Kisumu, as Kenyans await results for tightly fought presidential elections. (Till Muellenmeister/AFP/Getty Images)#

Kenyan children play in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, March 5, 2013, as preliminary results trickle in for the general election. (Jerome Delay/Associated Press)#

Kenyans walk past election posters in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, March 5, 2013. (Jerome Delay/Associated Press)#

Kenyans watch television in the streets of Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya, March 5, 2013, as preliminary results trickle in. (Jerome Delay/Associated Press)#

A young girl runs past pro-peace graffiti written during the post-election violence of the previous election in 2007 and a poster of presidential candidate Raila Odinga, center-right, in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya, March 6, 2013. (Ben Curtis/Associated Press)#

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