Raila Odinga claims victory in cliffhanger elections

[Gabbal]

Jamaal, I was very disappointed when I read the ECK results from the Northeast in which Odinga did not receive landslide support. As a matter of fact, it was to the contrary, Kibaki seemed to be ahead of him in that area.

 

we should be happy that ministers like Raphael Tuju, who masterminded the rendition of Kenyan-Somalis to Ethiopia,

Sharmarke, and here I believed I was the only one praying Tuju loses his seat! Good riddance and may he never get voted back in. Also Mohamed Abdi lost his vote, to him I say good riddance, what a corrupt man.

[N.O.R.F]

Looks like alot of underhand/dodgy dealings was Kibeki's strategy.

[Paragon]

^^Certainly there must have been some underhanded tactics going on, Norf. That is African politics for you.

 

SHAR MA'ARKE, it seems you are right. The move to swear in Kibaki in the state house has all the hallmarks of monkey politics to me. I just dread the consequences of this move. Hope all ends well.

 

Originally posted by HornAfrique:

Jamaal, I was very disappointed when I read the ECK results from the Northeast in which Odinga did not receive landslide support. As a matter of fact, it was to the contrary, Kibaki seemed to be ahead of him in that area.

 

quote:

---

we should be happy that ministers like Raphael Tuju, who masterminded the rendition of Kenyan-Somalis to Ethiopia,

Sharmarke, and here I believed I was the only one praying Tuju loses his seat! Good riddance and may he never get voted back in. Also Mohamed Abdi lost his vote, to him I say good riddance, what a corrupt man.

Hornafrica, I was disappointed too sxb. In the North-east, it has become almost a political norm that folks up there always vote for the incumbant party. I remember the Kanu days when old mothers believed voting for another party is a cardinal sin .

 

For a more indepth insight on the goings-on of NEP politics, I would hope SHARMARKE whom I know (because he is my younger bro ) is privy to things up would englighten us.

 

SHAR MA'ARKE, be kind enough and give us some nuggets of wisdom bro

[N.O.R.F]

Is Shar Ma'arke your younger bro?

 

Keep us updated gents. I hope to wake to good news IA.

[Paragon]

^Yes, he is.

 

Hope to wake to good news too.

[Separatist]

Dark clouds are congregating over Kenya 07 elections Jamaal, me kind of pessimistic for now;). Reminiscences of Moi's politics, I dare say! Remember he is right up in the corner, though Rift Valley backfired on him. I liked the unexpected suprise hiting Moi's Baringo mud houses.

 

J11, Limited updates on NEP election outcomes. Very remote as usual, have to wait til Zafanana gets those damn ballot boxes to the city;) ODM has the majority, though neck to neck.

 

FYI; Aden Barre has won Dujis on ODM seat. And former NEP pc has won Wajir south, ousting Ina Abdirahman. What a change of weather there! Wonder what the Ogles were upto these time around.

 

HornAfrique; Was happy too that Mr. Abdi, the marionette, lost.

[ElPunto]

I'm not sure why the Odinga partisans are issuing threats of unrest and chaos if they don't win. Things will get sorted out soon enough.

[Separatist]

^^ They were certain of a win. Things doesn't seem so now.

[Separatist]

VG, the leading Norwegian newspaper, reports Raila leading the race. Have to retire to bed, have to wake up early for work.

 

I hope to wake to good news too bro. Good night to you all.

[Suldaanka]

Kibaaki is fighting with cidiyaha to keep his seat.

 

 

"They want to steal votes. They are counting votes from regions favouring Kibaki and then they want to declare him the winner. We do not want violence, we want our rights," said one protester in Kisumu, Peter Oduor.

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Kenyan panel set to announce presidential winner

9 hours ago

 

NAIROBI (AFP) — Kenya's electoral board was expected to announce Sunday the winner of the presidential election amid claims of vote rigging and riots as the lead of opposition candidate Raila Odinga evaporated in the slow ballot counting.

 

The delay in counting the ballots in Thursday's election sparked violence nationwide, which claimed at least three lives on Saturday, as angry Odinga supporters accused incumbent President Mwai Kibaki of rigging the vote results.

 

Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) chief Samuel Kivuitu said Saturday that the latest count showed Odinga's once clear lead of over 300,000 votes had melted away to less than 40,000 votes, with just 19 out of the 210 constituencies left to report.

 

Odinga had held the edge over Kibaki in nearly all pre-election opinion polls and enjoyed a clear lead in the early counting, and voters dealt Kibaki's Party of National Unity a series of stinging defeats in parliamentary elections also held on Thursday.

 

The 76-year-old Kibaki, seeking a second term, has campaigned on the strong growth Kenya experienced during his five years in office.

 

Odinga, a flamboyant 62-year-old former political prisoner, has sought to become the first candidate to oust a sitting Kenyan president by arguing that the country's economic growth has not benefited many Kenyans.

 

A later ECK news conference quickly deteriorated into a shouting match with representative's of Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement accusing Kibaki's camp of rigging the results.

 

Odinga supporters then hit the streets in Nairobi and across the country, looting and starting fires despite calls from their party and observers to exercise restraint.

 

"There are riots all over the country, except a few areas, but there is sufficient security to maintain law and order," a top police official told AFP.

 

Hundreds of opposition supporters faced off with riot police in the massive pro-Odinga Nairobi slum of Kibera, shouting "No Raila, No Kenya!" and "We want our rights!"

 

Police fired live shots in the air to disperse mobs, while water cannons doused the flames of shops and houses set ablaze by demonstrators.

 

Protestors also lit bonfires, set up rogue roadblocks and looted shops in several Odinga bastions across the country, including Kisumu, Kakamega and Eldoret, police and witnesses said.

 

"They want to steal votes. They are counting votes from regions favouring Kibaki and then they want to declare him the winner. We do not want violence, we want our rights," said one protester in Kisumu, Peter Oduor.

 

Police shot dead two demonstrators while dispersing crowds in Eldoret, while another man was shot dead in a protest in the western Migori township. Police said six people had been killed since polling day on Thursday.

 

Following the outbreak in violence the ECK said it would verify results overnight Saturday before announcing further results on Sunday.

 

An election official told AFP Sunday that it had received all remaining results except for several precincts where problems had occurred.

 

Odinga's camp has accused the government of deliberately slowing down the counting process to leave time for results to be rigged.

 

Election officials have also yet to say how many of Kenya's roughly 14 million registered voters cast ballots, although turnout was expected to have exceeded the 57 percent in the 2002 election.

 

According to provisional results, voters ousted from parliament nearly three-quarters of Kibaki's cabinet, including Vice President Moody Awori, as well as the three sons of former dictator Daniel arap Moi.

[xiinfaniin]

Pray for stability in Kenya. I don’t really care who wins or loses in this election. I all care is to preserve the stability that exists in there. Kenya is home for many of us. My Allah keep the peace in there.

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Typical Kenyaati doorasho. Confusion, chaos and a flare-up violence here and there. Then the old, former colonial ruler, now unseen and behind the scenes, soo faragishanaa as usual and the players will be satisfied which leader of the already elected they choose.

 

Is Oginda Odinga, Raila's father, still alive? I still remember his Ford Asili party in early '93 elections. Kanu juu, Ford... mee ahayd the slogan waaba iloowee.

[Coloow]

Xiin Faniin: HOME TO US????? KENYA has never been home to us. Somalis live in the NFD (their God granted homeland), where they are still called shiftas, waryaas, lete-kipande etc.

 

That is an insult sxb.

 

 

Jamaal;

 

As you know bro, the NFDians don't blv that they are part of kenya. The so called election is a farce- and has always been the catalyst in tribal wars. The NFD is still marginalised; underdeveloped, human rights abuses are still rampant; various ACTS from the 1960,s are still in place to curtail basic rights. The whole of the NFD is under 40 years of emergency where rape; beatings, killings, false imprisonment etc are daily sights.

 

Nothing has changed since the Wagalla ( over 2000 people perished), Garissa (thousands were killed in Garissa; hundreds of school girls were raped?, and malka re massacres (over 970 were murdered). On the contrary, because of the lack of a coherent somalia state, the NFD is slowly suffocated.

 

Check this ..

http://abjadxudayi.blogspot.com/2005/06/wagalla-massacre.html

 

There are currently 68 roadblocks between Mandera and Garissa.

 

Those that are "elected" are puppets kind of the somali ********** somali government. However, four somali MPS have tried to change things:The late Aabejanno and Ahmed Khalif (Ilaahey ha u naxriisto).Farah Moalim appears to be a great guy, let us wait and see whether he is willing to speak out. Billow Keerow was "beaten" by 1100 votes (He was a pan somalist). But I think he lost because he was talked about somaliweyn, islam and justice for the dead.

 

Kibaki and Odinga waa dameer iyo labadiisa dhegood. It does not matter who comes to power , somalis and the NFD would remain a colony. Kibaki was the vice president when the massacres took place: Raili's dad was equally responsible in the sixties.

 

THE ONLY SOLUTION IS INDEPENDENCE for the NFD i.e. North Eestern province, northern part of eastern province (moyale, Isiolo) and the northern part of coastal province.

 

 

Read this from Reuters:

 

"The process of vetting Kenyan-Somalis, Nubians and Kenyan Arabs ... is discriminatory and violates the principle of equal treatment," it said in its report.

 

Members of these communities were often subjected to unusually lengthy checks by the authorities, it said.

 

Officials often demanded to see alternative proofs of citizenship, like land titles or grandparents' IDs, even though this was not required by law, the commission said.

 

"For a long time Muslims have been complaining about marginalisation. ... This report confirms the allegations ... the cries about victimisation are actually true," commissioner Hassan Omar Hassan told journalists.

 

Mistreatment of Muslims had happened in Kenya for decades, the commission said, but had worsened since 2001 under the U.S. "war on terror" -- and it said officials sometimes used suspicions of terrorism to hold up the registration process.

 

 

RIGGING CLAIMS

 

Opposition challenger Raila Odinga has been at the forefront of those accusing President Mwai Kibaki's government of plotting to steal victory at the ballot box on Thursday.

 

In his latest allegation, Odinga said some 20,000 police had been deployed in his Nairobi constituency to intimidate voters and rig the election in favour of his rival.

 

The government denied it, saying extra police were deploying to all districts -- and that Odinga was not being singled out.

 

Odinga has maintained a narrow lead in opinion polls over Kibaki, with less than a week to go before what are shaping up to be the closest polls yet in east Africa's biggest economy.

 

Some 14 million of Kenya's 36 million people will be eligible to vote, and campaigning officially ends on Monday.

 

Despite their widely different personalities and leadership styles -- Kibaki is seen as reserved while Odinga is outspoken -- the pair differ little on policy.

 

Both are vowing to boost Kenya's economic growth, create jobs, tackle poverty and provide free secondary education.

 

Civil society activists have accused both Kibaki's Party of National Unity and Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement of bribing voters and other electoral frauds, which both deny.

 

In some areas -- particularly western Mount Elgon region and central Kuresoi -- the campaigns have been accompanied by violence forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes.

 

© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved

 

 

P.s I know I sound nostalgic and idealist but the NFD and somalis in Nairobi are treated as second class citizens.

[Emperor]

Things aren't getting any better, Raila Odinga declares himself President of the country and tells Kibaki to respect the will of the Kenyans

 

Mambo sio mazuri Walahi, Massive pressure for the Kenyan electoral commission, I feel sorry for the poor guyz... Maxay dhihi doonaan, actually both groups the ruling and the opposition party are asking for a re-count... vote riging allegations, chaos in the country..

 

Raila Odinga

[Emperor]

 

Lool, waraqihiba hoosbaa jiir ufadhiya sii cunaaya

 

Amin Amir is just briliant...