{"id":343046,"date":"2017-08-08T07:16:20","date_gmt":"2017-08-08T07:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=343046"},"modified":"2017-08-08T07:16:20","modified_gmt":"2017-08-08T07:16:20","slug":"kenya-election-2017-president-kenyatta-urges-peaceful-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/08\/kenya-election-2017-president-kenyatta-urges-peaceful-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenya election 2017: President Kenyatta urges peaceful vote"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"story-body__introduction\">People are voting in Kenya&#8217;s general election amid fears that the result could trigger communal violence.<\/p>\n<p>On the eve of the vote, President Uhuru Kenyatta appealed for calm in a televised speech.<\/p>\n<p>He urged the 19 million registered voters to turn out in great numbers, but &#8220;in peace&#8221;. Queues formed early and some minor stampedes were reported.<\/p>\n<p>The contest pits Mr Kenyatta against his long-time rival, Raila Odinga, and is seen as too close to call.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Kenyatta, the 55-year-old son of Kenya&#8217;s founding president, is seeking a second and final term in office.<\/p>\n<p>The final week of campaigning has been marred by\u00a0the murder of a top election official\u00a0and claims of vote-rigging.<\/p>\n<p>Observers say the leading candidates both avoided inflammatory speeches as polling day drew closer. In 2007 more than 1,100 Kenyans died and 600,000 were displaced after a disputed election &#8211; an outcome neither side wants to see repeated.<\/p>\n<p>This time long snaking queues were seen at some polling stations, and video footage at one showed people injured on the ground after an apparent stampede.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media-landscape has-caption full-width\"><span class=\"image-and-copyright-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"responsive-image__img js-image-replace\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/87D6\/production\/_97247743_kenyapolls.jpg\" alt=\"Uhuru Kenyatta (left), Kenya's president, is locked in a tight race with opposition leader Raila Odinga (pictured right).\" width=\"976\" height=\"549\" data-highest-encountered-width=\"624\" \/><\/span><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;After you cast your ballot, please go home,&#8221; Mr Kenyatta said on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Go back to your neighbour. Regardless of where he or she comes from, their tribe, their colour or their religion. Shake their hand, share a meal and tell them &#8216;let us wait for the results,&#8217; for Kenya will be here long after this general election.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Opposition leader Mr Odinga, of the National Super Alliance, also addressed the public on Monday. He raised fears about vote-rigging and claimed the deployment of at least 150,000 members of the security forces was a ploy to intimidate voters.<\/p>\n<p>However, he congratulated Mr Kenyatta on his campaign, describing him as a &#8220;worthy opponent&#8221;.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media-with-caption\">\n<div class=\"player-with-placeholder\">\n<p><img class=\"media-placeholder player-with-placeholder__image narrative-video-placeholder\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/720x405\/p05bstfc.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"player-with-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;May the stronger candidate win tomorrow,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Former US President Barack Obama, whose father was born in Kenya, also called for calm.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The choices you make in the coming days can either set Kenya back or bring it together,&#8221; he said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As a friend of the Kenyan people, I urge you to work for a future defined not by fear and division, but by unity and hope.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Eight presidential candidates are on the ballot on Tuesday, with polls open until 17:00 local time (14:00 GMT).<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"image-and-copyright-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"responsive-image__img js-image-replace\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/media\/images\/66239000\/gif\/_66239292_line2.gif\" alt=\"line break\" width=\"624\" height=\"1\" data-highest-encountered-width=\"624\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Kenya&#8217;s election in numbers:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"story-body__unordered-list\">\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\"><strong>Six separate ballot papers<\/strong>: For president, national assembly, female representatives, governors, senate and county assemblies<\/li>\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\"><strong>47 parliamentary seats<\/strong>\u00a0and 16 senate seats reserved for women<\/li>\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\"><strong>Eight presidential candidates<\/strong>: President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga are favourites<\/li>\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\">Kenyatta beat Odinga in 2013 &#8211; their fathers were also political rivals in the 1960s<\/li>\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\">A candidate needs\u00a0<strong>50% plus one\u00a0<\/strong>vote for first-round victory<\/li>\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\">More than\u00a0<strong>14,000 candidates\u00a0<\/strong>running across the six elections<\/li>\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\">More than\u00a0<strong>45% of registered voters under 35<\/strong><\/li>\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\">Some\u00a0<strong>180,000 security officers<\/strong>\u00a0on duty nationwide in case of trouble<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8211;<\/p>\n<p>Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People are voting in Kenya&#8217;s general election amid fears that the result could trigger communal violence. On the eve of the vote, President Uhuru Kenyatta appealed for calm in a televised speech. He urged the 19 million registered voters to turn out in great numbers, but &#8220;in peace&#8221;. Queues formed early and some minor stampedes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[901,3,592],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Kenya election 2017: President Kenyatta urges peaceful vote - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. 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