Kenya votes in divisive election

Some voters waited in line from the early hours to cast their ballots in the close race between incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta and his longtime rival Raila Odinga. The latest opinion polls showed no clear favorite.

In a rematch of the previous election, Kenyans on Tuesday voted in divisive elections that pit the third son of Jomo Kenyatta, incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta, against veteran opposition leader and longtime rival Raila Odinga for a five-year term. The winner needs one vote more than 50 percent of the poll to win. 

The presidential vote is being held concurrently with the election of 47 governors, 47 senators and 290 members of the lower house.

For 102-year-old voter Lydia Gathoni it was a long wait through the night so she was first in line to cast her ballot on Tuesday morning in Nairobi. "Let God share with him the wisdom of Solomon," she said of her preferred candidate. "Let God prevail. Let God govern the country."There are eight candidates for the presidency but the 55-year-old Kenyatta and 72-year-old Odinga seem to have the race between them. Some 20 million Kenyans were casting ballots at 40,000 polling stations across East Africa’s largest economy on Tuesday. Half of the voters are under the age of 35.