Vote counting begins in Kenya's hotly contested elections

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — From the Indian Ocean coast to Rift Valley towns to Nairobi's slums, Kenyans turned out in large numbers to vote today in an election pitting President Uhuru Kenyatta against challenger Raila Odinga in this East African economic hub known for its long-term stability and ethnic allegiances that shadow its democracy.

Vote counting began this evening after many polling stations closed on schedule, though some sites remained open to process voters still waiting to cast ballots.

Kenya is an African leader, making its election a closely watched event across the continent and beyond. Kenya's diversity, symbolized by the gulf between its so-called Silicon Savannah ambitions for a booming tech industry and the poverty and lack of services found in shantytowns or remote rural areas, as well as its complex ethnic patchwork, mirror the potential for advancement, and the obstacles to it, across the wider region.

Voters formed long lines at many polling stations before dawn, waiting to cast ballots in the tightly contested race for the presidency as well as for more than 1,800 elected positions, including governors, legislative representatives and county officials.

A key concern is whether Kenya will echo its 2013 election, a mostly peaceful affair despite opposition allegations of vote-tampering, or the 2007 election, which led to violence fueled by ethnic divisions that killed more than 1,000 people.

"If the elections are not fair, if there was rigging, people will definitely go to the streets," said Sophia Ajwang, a 29-year-old student in Kisumu city.

Moses Otieno, a 33-year-old businessman, said, however, that Kenyans desperately want to avoid another bout of election unrest.

"We've learned a lot in the past, so we don't want such repetition in this election," Otieno said. "That's why we will accept whatever outcome it is."