Kenyans vote in by-elections
Five by-elections got under way Wednesday in Kenya, in a first major test for the fragile coalition government formed after the deadly electoral violence that rocked the country almost six months ago.
An AFP correspondent in the Kilgoris constituency, west of the capital Nairobi, said voting started shortly after 8:00 am (0500 GMT).
Kenya's anti-riot police -- the feared General Service Unit -- was heavily deployed around polling stations, but no tension was visible.
Kilgoris is seen as a potential flashpoint, with tension still running high between rival tribes during the campaign.
A by-election is being held there because the chaos that followed the dispute over the December 27 general polls prevented the results from being announced.
Among the other parliament seats being filled are those of two MPs gunned down in separate incidents earlier this year -- one in Nairobi and the other in northern Kenya.
Another constituency is voting because post-electoral turmoil scuppered the counting process and the last seat was left vacant when Kenneth Marende was elected speaker of parliament.
Following the December 27 polls, then opposition candidate and pre-election frontrunner Raila Odinga accused incumbent President Mwai Kibaki of rigging his way to re-election.
The dispute led to nationwide protests which rapidly deteriorated into a cycle of ethnic battles and revenge killings that left at least 1,500 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.
The chaos eventually ended with a February 28 power-sharing agreement brokered by former UN chief Kofi Annan which saw Kibaki keep his job and Odinga take the helm of coalition cabinet.
The international community has sent scores of observers to monitor Wednesday's polling and urged all sides to exercise the utmost restraint and preserve the nation's fragile political unity.
AFP
