Two Kenyan soldiers guard full ballot boxes at City Hall in Nairobi yesterday as they sit beneath the Kenyan government's crest bearing the word harambee, which means "pulling together". Photograph: JeanMarc Bouju/AP
The prospect of renewed unrest in Kenya has grown dramatically with both the government and opposition crying foul after chaotic general elections. Kenya's general election was rigged, President Daniel arap Moi said in a radio broadcast yesterday. The shocking announcement was made as votes were still being counted after electoral mayhem forced a second day of voting yesterday.
The 73-year-old president and his Kanu party have been widely tipped to win the elections. But state-owned KBC radio broadcast a bulletin in which President arap Moi accused the Electoral Commission of being involved in "an obvious scheme to rig the ongoing general elections in favour of the opposition".
KBC radio said, "President Moi said it was absurd that since the start of voting (on Monday), the Electoral Commission had targeted Kanu's traditional strongholds." KBC quoted the president as saying that in some Kanu areas the commission had made sure there was a shortage of ballot papers.
Opposition parties are also dismissing the elections as fraudulent. They are blaming Kanu for orchestrating the confusion in which ballot papers were delivered late, to the wrong locations and, in some cases, not at all.
Safina, the party of the conservationist, Mr Richard Leakey, has called for mass action in the new year if President Moi and Kanu win the elections. The Social Democratic Party of the woman presidential candidate, Ms Charity Ngilu, has said the elections should be annulled because of rigging by Kanu.
There are fears that if opposition supporters take to the streets there could be a repeat of the violence which occurred when security forces brutally crushed demonstrations in the capital, Nairobi, in the summer.
"The elections are emerging as a fantastic farce," said members of the National Convention Executive Council (NCEC), a pro-democracy reform lobby with strong opposition links. The NCEC yesterday urged Kenyans to "reject the flawed elections" and called on President arap Moi to form a government of national unity in the first week of January. The organisation, which led last summer's suppressed pro-democracy demonstrations, has appealed for calm "at this hour of national tragedy".
"The manner in which the elections have been conducted so far precludes anyone other than Moi from winning," Prof Kivutha Kibwana, NCEC chairman, said yesterday. Within minutes of the NCEC concluding its press conference, Kanu senior officials were also alleging skulduggery.
Echoing the words of his party leader, Mr Jeremiah Nyagah accused the Electoral Commission of trying "frustrate an otherwise assured (Kanu) victory". "Ballot papers were either missing or less than required in areas that support Kanu," Mr Nyagah said. "It's obvious these events were not accidental".
His statements to international and local journalists gave rise to suspicions that President arap Moi and Kanu might be preparing the ground for defeat if the results, expected by the end of the week, go against them. His Kanu colleague, Mr Geoffrey Kathurima, however, insisted, "We're winning, there's no doubt about that." He denied Kanu wanted the elections annulled. "The elections were very free and fair," he said, "apart from what we have noted."
A statement from Kenya's electoral observers yesterday admitted "very frustrating circumstances" and called on Kenyans to supply information on breaches of the electoral process. International observers of the elections concede there was some, mainly government-inspired rigging of the elections but say most of the problems arose from organisational inefficiency rather than from intentional fraud.
Counting of votes got off to a slow start yesterday. In Nairobi riot police armed with teargas and batons patrolled counting halls in the city.
Ironically, President arap Moi still would be likely to win even if most of the country's nine million registered voters voted for opposition candidates.