The critical vote-counting state has begun in Kenya's presidential election, a contest between two long-standing political dynasties in a country with a history of post-election violence.
President Uhuru Kenyatta was leading with 55 percent of the vote to challenger Raila Odinga's 44 percent when the election commission released early preminary results Tuesday, but that estimate was made with less than a quarter of the country's nearly 41,000 polling stations counted.
Elections officials have up to a week to announce full results, but they may opt to announce the outcome as soon as possible to alleviate the possibility of violence.
Kenyans stood in line for hours Tuesday to cast ballots, facing rain and both cold and hot weather conditions throughout the day.
In addition to choosing between indumbent Kenyatta and challenger Odinga, voters also decided on senators, governors, women’s representatives of the national assembly, members of the national assembly, and members of the county assembly.
Hellen Mazitoh is a 32-year-old voter from the Githogoro slum in Nairobi. She waited in line for well over seven hours, but says she isn’t complaining.
“Let me say, the election mood is good. People are voting. Once they vote, they are going home. Nothing bad has occurred. Nobody left, people are responding well,” said Mazitoh.
IN PICTURES: Kenyans vote undeterred by long lines, rain
Kenyan Voters Undeterred by Long Lines, Morning Rain, Afternoon Heat
‘I want my voice to be heard’
Thirty-three-year-old voter Emmanuel Musundi Wamukundi waited for more than four hours at his polling station in Nairobi. He says the lines were a bit disorganized in the beginning, but otherwise, things seemed to be running smoothly.
“I mean, it’s patriotism, this is for my country, and I want to be involved in it,” said Wamukundi. “I want my voice to be heard and it’s the only thing I can do to change things.”
The electoral commission said heavy rain hampered voting in three parts of the country — Turkana North, Baringo and Samburu — and helicopters were required to airlift materials and polling officials.
The commission said voting would be extended in any polling stations that got a late start.
Both candidates in the presidential race expressed confidence Tuesday as they cast their ballots in Nairobi.
Opposition leader Odinga told supporters gathered outside his polling station to “continue mobilizing to come out and vote. This victory is ours.”
President Kenyatta said the ruling Jubilee coalition had run a “very positive campaign” and that he believes Kenyans “want us to continue moving forward.”
Poll taken 'very seriously’
Former U.S. secretary of state John Kerry and former Senegalese prime minister Aminata Touré visited Jamhuri High School in Nairobi as co-leaders of the U.S.-based Carter Center election observation mission. Kerry referenced the long lines he’d seen at polling stations as a sign of the commitment of Kenyan voters.
“It’s too early for us to draw any kinds of conclusions so we’re not, but obviously given what’s happened in the past and given the stakes for the future, this is a very, very important election, and clearly the citizens of Kenya are taking it very, very seriously,” said Kerry.
Kenya’s electoral commission is using biometric voter identification and electronic vote transmission systems to conduct the elections. The vote is seen as a key test for the commission after voting technology failed during the last polls in 2013, sparking allegations of vote rigging. .
Like so many Kenyans, voter Francis Mutiso Matheka is urging peace above all else in these elections.
“I would love to tell fellow Kenyans to vote peacefully,” said Matheka. “We need this country, after today, after tomorrow, and this country, it’s greater than any one of us.”
Also calling for a peaceful outcome Monday was former U.S. president Barack Obama, the son of a native-born Kenyan. Obama issued a statement urging voters in his ancestral homeland to "reject violence and incitement; respect the will of the people; urge security forces to act professionally and neutrally; and work together no matter the outcome."
The winner of the presidential election must receive 50 percent of all votes, and 25 percent or more of votes in at least 25 of Kenya’s 47 counties. If neither candidate hits that threshold, a run-off will take place.