Opposition leader Mr Mwai Kibaki was set to become Kenya's first new president in 24 years today after a landslide election victory over the only party to rule the east African nation since independence from Britain in 1963.
The 71-year-old Mr Kibaki, standing for the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), trounced the hand-picked successor of outgoing president Daniel arap Moi in a political earthquake for Kenya.
It is the first time since independence that the opposition, which also swept to majority control of the parliament after Friday's vote, has won power in Kenya, where once-thriving coffee and tea industries and most facets of national infrastructure have fallen prey to mismanagement and corruption.
"We have already counted more than half of the results from the 210 constituencies and the remaining areas cannot much change the outcome of the results," electoral commission member Mr Abuya Abuya said.
"According to provisional results Mwai Kibaki has won," Mr Obuya said. There were no exact figures available but final results were expected later today.
"Let me confirm to those of you who still have doubts, Honorable Mwai Kibaki will be Kenya's next president and NARC looks set secure a majority of seats in parliament already," senior NARC official Mr Raila Odinga told a news conference. "This is the dawn of a new era," he said.
Mr Moi has summoned senior government and military officials to a meeting today to prepare for the inauguration of his successor, which could happen as soon tomorrow, his office said.
The outgoing president had groomed Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, the 42-year-old son of Kenya's first post-independence president, as the candidate for his ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) party, sparking an unprecedented revolt.
Voters overwhelmingly rejected Mr Kenyatta in favour of Mr Kibaki, a veteran opposition leader who also served a decade as vice president under Mr Moi, and also tossed out many senior KANU figures who have dominated the political landscape for decades.
AFP