Kenyan opposition leader alleges election fraud

Clashes between protesters and security officials broke out in the stronghold of opposition leader Raila Odinga shortly after he announced the electoral commission’s systems had been hacked. Police fired tear gas at a group of about 100 protesters in the city of Kisumu, where they had started to burn tires and block some roads. At least one protester died, according to official reports. Odinga claimed during a Wednesday news conference that hackers used the identity of a murdered electoral official to enter the electoral commission’s systems and alter the votes to incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta’s advantage. Kenyan officials confirmed last week that Christopher Msando, who worked on information technology for the commission, had been tortured and killed. Wafula Chebukati, electoral commission chairman, said the commission would order an audit to investigate the hacking claims. Kenya’s electoral commission has tallied about 95 percent of the votes. Kenyatta is currently in the lead with 54.3 percent, while Odinga has 44.8 percent. The winner needs more than 50 percent of the votes, and at least a quarter of the votes in 24 of Kenya’s 47 counties.