News agencies have reported that Kenyans lined up for miles to participate in this year's election, and the BBC has estimated turnout to be about 70 percent, which is far higher than previous elections. Turnout was only about 56 percent in 2002.
Heavy turnout normally favors the opposition, "change" candidate, and this election should be no exception, especially if these new voters are youths or from the smaller ethnic groups.
These turnout numbers might also mean that the result might not be as close as the polls were predicting ahead of the election. These voters could swing one way or the other, tipping the election to Odinga or Kibaki by more than just a few percentage points.
A convincing victory could help ease tensions that have been high recently, with election violence and accusations of rigging. Today, Odinga did not have his name on the voter roll when he tried to vote. Although this could be a mistake (especially considering the electoral commission was probably overwhelmed by the numbers), it played into the opposition's fears that the government is somehow trying to rig the election.
Regardless of who these additional voters are, Raila Odinga must be smiling. The turnout numbers are very, very good news for him. Of course, he must win his home consistuency, Lang'ata, in Nairobi in order to become president (according to election rules, the president must be a member of parliament), and according to reports, this looks far from certain now.
Here are some of the important stories from the day (some may require free registration)...
Be sure to check out the editorials from two of Kenya's leading newspapers, The Nation and The East African Standard here on allAfrica.
