Kenyans wake up early to vote for new president, police urges people to go home after casting ballot

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Queues started building up at polling station in the capital, Nairobi, on Monday night.

The BBC's Anne Soy says one queue stretched well over 200m by early Tuesday. The people at the front said they arrived before 21:00 on Monday.

Voting in Kenya

Margaret Mwangi, 59, a fruit hawker, decided not to go home for the night. She camped at the station waiting to vote.

She’s second in the queue and hopes to go home after voting to follow the news on television.

Voting in Kenya

The police are urging Kenyans to leave polling stations after casting their votes and wait for the results at home so as to maintain order and peace.

“In today's poll, after you have made your decision known at the ballot, we ask that you support our security efforts by waiting for the poll results at the comfort of your homes,” the National Police Service says in a statement.

“We all want to live in an orderly society that respects the rule of law and one that is considerate to the wellbeing of its people,” it adds.

The police are providing security for the polling exercise across the country, with officers dedicated to each of the more than 46,000 polling stations.

During campaigns some politicians had urged supporters to remain at polling stations on voting day in order to "guard their votes".

There are four candidates vying for the top job:

 

Source: BBC 

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