Word: turnout
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With their candidate leading in early polls, the Luo were poised to celebrate a historic victory. Instead, Odinga's nearly 1 million-vote lead vanished amid reports of improbably high voter turnout in Kibaki strongholds. Kibaki was hastily sworn in and promptly banned live TV as the violence surged in the streets. (At the height of the crisis, a broadcaster aired children's shows in which smiling kids sang, "Patty-cake, patty-cake.") On Jan. 1, a church in Kiambaa where Kikuyu had sought refuge was burned by an angry mob. At least 50 people, many of them women...
...immediate cause of the violence is what international and local observers are calling a blatant attempt by President Mwai Kibaki, head of the Party of National Unity, to rig the Dec. 27 general election. With a high turnout, the vote was initially hailed as a success, but the mood soured as the counting went on. When opposition leader Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement jumped to a lead of nearly 1 million votes, results were delayed from several of Kibaki's strongholds. When the final result was announced, Kibaki, 76, had squeaked through with a victory of just...
...True, only a small percentage of Iowa voters participate in the caucuses. (In 2004, about 122,000 Democrats, out of 573,631, actually took part; President Bush was unchallenged. Some predict a record turnout this year, weather permitting.) But despite reports to the contrary, most people who show up at the caucuses won't be party activists or people with a vested interest but instead everyday folks doing their civic duty. "Most are just friends and neighbors, they're not political animals," says Redlawsk...
...vote last Thursday was initially portrayed as a success. Turnout was 70%. Nairobi's Daily Nation newspaper boasted such a peaceful and energetic political process would be the "envy of Africa." But the mood soured as the counting went on. And when Odinga jumped to a lead of nearly 1 million votes, results were delayed from several of Kibaki's strongholds. Election officials either disappeared with ballot boxes or refused to answer their phones. When the final result was announced, Kibaki had squeaked through with a victory over Odinga...
...vote may have been rigged. On Monday, the U.S., whose State Department at first congratulated Kibaki on his victory, issued a statement through its Nairobi embassy saying it was concerned by "serious problems experienced during the vote counting process." "These included various anomalies with respect to unrealistically high voter turnout rates, close to 100% in some constituencies," it said. Koki Muli, co-chair of a domestic observer group called KEDOF, added: "The electoral process lost credibility toward the end with regard to tallying and announcement of presidential results...