Pizzas galore!

“General elections in the Republic of Kenya have fallen short of key international and regional standards for democratic elections,” the EU team said in its official assessment. “They were marred by a lack of transparency in the processing and tallying of presidential results, which raises concerns about the accuracy of the final results.”

Kenya has been plunged into turmoil as continued violence over President Kibaki’s re-election involved angry supporters of Mr Odinga. Confrontations with police left at least 135 people dead yesterday, reports today suggest that figure has now risen to more than 200.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has issued a travel advisory against all but essential travel to the country where an estimated 7,000 British tourists are enjoying the southern hemisphere sunshine. Other nations, including Italy, France, the Netherlands and Portugal issued similar warnings.

“We believe it is vital that an impartial investigation into the accuracy of the presidential results is conducted, and the results from all polling stations are published to enable an independent audit to be carried out,” the chief EU observer, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, said at a press conference.

The 76-year-old President was sworn in for a second term on Sunday, despite claims of corruption and vote-rigging.

The electoral chaos has paralysed the country, normally a beacon of stability in a turbulent region. Some commentators said that it would seriously damage Mr Kibaki’s legacy of a booming economy.

Regional experts fear Kenya may now slide back into the autocracy of the former President Daniel arap Moi’s era which Mr Kibaki ended in 2002 in a landslide vote, made possible after Mr Odinga stepped aside to unite the opposition.

The Government banned live TV and radio broadcasts and yesterday, as violence mounted across the land, state television aired children’s shows.

Yesterday a remarkable reversal was made by the US State Department, which on Sunday congratulated Mr Kibaki, a staunch ally in the war on terrorism, on his re-election, when the US Embassy in Nairobi said it was concerned by “serious problems” during vote-counting. Britain reiterated the concerns, with a statement from David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, saying he was “appalled” by the violence and adding that Gordon Brown had contacted leaders to emphasise “reconciliation and unity”.

What happens next?

— President Kibaki will have only 30 supportive MPs in the 210-seat national parliament from which to pick a cabinet of about 20

— Should this parliament convene, it seems likely that Raila Odinga or his supporters in the Orange Democratic Movement will press for an immediate vote of no confidence in President Kibaki, a vote that would almost certainly go against him

— A key role is likely to be played by Kalonzo Musyoka, the former Foreign Minister, whose ODM-K party came third and is likely to hold about 46 seats, more than President Kibaki

— Mr Odinga has few realistic options beyond using his parliamentary majority to force President Kibaki’s Government, and Kenya itself, to a standstill. The courts are considered widely to be tainted by corruption

— There is little chance of reconciliation or power-sharing: Kenya has no prime minister and the vice-presidency is a largely powerless title, so there is no position of prestige that could be offered to Mr Odinga

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