{"id":49004,"date":"2017-10-26T10:09:09","date_gmt":"2017-10-26T10:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=49004"},"modified":"2017-10-26T10:09:09","modified_gmt":"2017-10-26T10:09:09","slug":"police-clash-with-protesters-as-kenya-election-re-run-opens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/police-clash-with-protesters-as-kenya-election-re-run-opens.html","title":{"rendered":"Police clash with protesters as Kenya election re-run opens"},"content":{"rendered":"

Police clash with protesters as Kenya election re-run opens<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Police clash with protesters as Kenya election re-run opens:- Polls opened this Thursday morning in Kenya\u2019s contested re-run presidential election, as police shot tear gas and reportedly live rounds at protesters in opposition strongholds.<\/span><\/p>\n

The vote comes after an August election was annulled by the Supreme Court, which cited irregularities within the electoral process. But the re-run was rocked by scandal after scandal, including the withdrawal of Raila Odinga, the main opposition candidate, who said country lacked the institutions to hold a credible election.<\/span><\/p>\n

Odinga\u2019s decision not to run has made the outcome of the vote a foregone conclusion for incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta. But it has raised concerns about a widening rift in one of East Africa\u2019s most influential nations, which has historically been seen as a maturing democracy.<\/span><\/p>\n

That rift, which falls largely along ethnic lines, between Kenyatta\u2019s Kikuyu tribe and Odinga\u2019s Luo tribe, was visible across Nairobi on Thursday morning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kenyatta supporters arrived at the polls to reaffirm his re-election. Meanwhile, Odinga supporters either stayed home and refused to vote, or, in a few tense parts of the city, lobbed rocks at police, who responded with force.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am voting for a peaceful country and I am voting for Uhuru,\u201d said Selly Bahati, who said her business selling shoes in Nairobi has declined by 50 percent during the last few months of political instability. \u201cBut it\u2019s true that we are divided by tribe, and I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen next.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bahati arrived at an empty polling center in Kibera, Nairobi\u2019s largest slum. While she stood outside, men screamed at her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing there?\u201d one man yelled.<\/span><\/p>\n

Deeper in the slum, in a more fierce Odinga stronghold, running battles between police and protesters went on for hours. Police chased young men through the slum\u2019s narrow streets, and one protester said at least three people had been shot and taken to a local hospital.<\/span><\/p>\n

When police escorted a bus full of ballot papers, local men shouted at them, arguing that there was no reason to supply voting materials in a neighborhood where residents supported a candidate who had withdrawn from the election.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you bringing the papers here?\u201d Vincent Omondi yelled at one officer.<\/span><\/p>\n

It remains unclear how Odinga\u2019s supporters will respond once Kenyatta\u2019s re-election is formally declared. For his part, Odinga has suggested that he will transform his party into a \u201cresistance movement\u201d aimed at obstructing the next government. But in a statement Wednesday, he stopped short of encouraging violent protests.<\/span><\/p>\n

After a 2007 election dispute, also involving Odinga, violence erupted along tribal lines and more than 1,000 people were killed. This time, the dynamic is different, as Kenyatta now has total control over Kenya\u2019s security forces, making protracted mob violence less likely.<\/span><\/p>\n

But fears of political instability \u2014 and an overreaction of the security forces \u2014 were prevalent as voting and protests continued.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKenya is at risk of losing much of what it has gained since 2008 unless it comes together at this crucial moment to preserve its democracy and fundamental freedoms,\u201d said a statement from 15 Western ambassadors and heads of missions in Kenya, including the U.S. ambassador.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/police-clash-with-protesters-as-kenya-election-re-run-opens\/2017\/10\/26\/7c00e56e-b5cc-11e7-9b93-b97043e57a22_story.html?utm_term=.a25c5e792c41<\/span><\/p>\n

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