BBC News, Nairobi
13 August 2022
With almost half of the results from Kenya’s presidential election now confirmed, the two main candidates are running neck and neck.
Deputy President William Ruto has taken a slight lead over ex-Prime Minister Raila Odinga – 51% against 48%.
The head of the electoral commission has admitted that announcing the result of Tuesday’s election is too slow. The verification of results has been stopped several times after complaints by supporters of the main candidates.
On Saturday night, Mr Odinga’s supporters entered a restricted area and accosted electoral officials, accusing them of tampering with the vote.
Mr Ruto’s supporters accused their opponents of interfering with the tallying process.
Riot police have been deployed inside the building to reinforce security.
There have been calls for peace from several leaders and bodies including the Catholic church which asked for “patience and civility” and urged the main candidates to show “restraint and statesmanship” as anxiety grows.
The results of 141 of the 292 constituencies have now been confirmed, according to a BBC tally of official announcements.
Media organisations have been releasing provisional tallies using official data from the 46,000 polling stations. They also show a tight race between the two candidates.
About 14 million votes were cast – a turnout of 65%.
The electoral commission has until Tuesday 16 August to declare the winner
