With most polling stations in the Kenyan elections closed pundits are predicting that the end of 24-years of rule by President Daniel arap Moi will be followed by the ousting of the ruling party after nearly four decades in power.
Voting delays and mix-ups strained tempers during 12 hours of polling that began at 3 a.m. (Irish time), with voters jamming radio station telephone lines to complain at having being left off electoral rolls or in some cases being listed as dead.
"They told me my name was found in the register of dead people. What kind of joke is that?," said Ms Rispa Otieno, a mother of seven in the Embakasi district of Nairobi.
"Tension is building up in polling stations in all parts of the country, but mostly in Nairobi... We are concerned," national police spokesman Mr Kingori Mwangi said.
Voting closed at 3 p.m. (Irish time) but election officials said polling stations that opened late would close later. Kenyans hope Mr Moi's retirement will herald a new dawn after years of economic stagnation and corruption.
It is only the third multi-party vote since independence from Britain in 1963. Mr Mwai Kibaki, leader of the opposition National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), is widely tipped to defeat his main rival in the presidential race, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, the candidate of the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU).
"Kibaki will win," said Mr Katama Mkangi, sociology professor at the US International University in Nairobi. "The will for Kibaki and for change is irresistible."
Commentators said Mr Kibaki was the firm favourite in the presidential race as NARC represents many more tribes than KANU. Tribes, not policies, are the key factor in Kenyan politics.