Provisional referendum results released late Wednesday showed Kenyans were likely to approve a new constitution, part of the reform process aimed at avoiding a repeat of the violence that followed December 2007's elections. With around 4.5 million ballots counted, 66.3 per cent of voters had voted in favour of the new constitution, dpa quoted the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) as saying. The referendum, held under tight security, was the first national vote since more than 1,300 people died in the tribal clashes that followed opposition accusations the elections were rigged in favour of President Mwai Kibaki. Turnout among the roughly 12.5 million Kenyans registered to vote appeared to be high throughout the day. "Kenyans have turned out in large numbers, we have seen long lines," Ahmed Issack Hassan, Chairman of the IIEC, told journalists at the national tallying centre in Nairobi. No incidents were reported as the poll passed off peacefully, with many voters in good spirits as they waited.
