One dead as fresh protests erupt after Kenya's divisive vote

One person was shot dead as fresh protests hit western Kenya on Friday, a day after a deeply-divisive election re-run which was marred by low voter turnout and violence, taking the death toll to six.

The latest bloodshed occurred as angry opposition supporters took to streets in several western towns to protest plans by the IEBC election board to stage a poll on Saturday in four areas where voting had been blocked by election day unrest. 

The region is a hotbed of support for opposition leader Raila Odinga, who boycotted Thursday's vote in a move that has all but assured his rival President Uhuru Kenyatta a landslide victory.

But as polling officials carefully counted the ballots, difficult questions remained over the credibility of an election boycotted by a large part of the 19 million registered voters, with initial turnout figures suggesting only a third of registered voters turned up.

The country's second presidential election in three months has sharply divided east Africa's flagship democracy, and the result may spark further legal battles.

By Friday morning, angry protesters had taken to the streets, blocking roads in the western towns of Homa Bay, Migori and Bungoma, where one man was shot dead during a confrontation with police. 

"People were running away from police and that is when they started shooting and he fell down and started bleeding heavily," witness Maurice Wafula told AFP.

"We are not voting and it is our right to demonstrate, they should not kill us."

But police denied the account, claiming he was one of a group of youths who cornered an officer and tried to grab his gun. "That's when he was unfortunately shot dead," said local police chief Moses Nyakwama.

Earlier, there were also chaotic scenes in Migori where police were engaged in running battles with youths, a correspondent said. 

At least four people were killed during Thursday's vote and around 50 others wounded, most of them by live bullets, according to an AFP tally of figures from officials and medics. Another who was injured in Homa Bay succumbed to his injuries on Friday morning, medics said, raising the toll to six. 

- More unstable than ever -

Kenya is now "more fractured and unstable than ever before", the Daily Nation warned in an editorial on Friday. "There is a need to forge inclusivity."

The vote came after a two-month political drama that began when the Supreme Court overturned the victory of President Uhuru Kenyatta in August 8 elections due to "irregularities".

Although the ruling was initially hailed as a chance to deepen democracy, reaction quickly soured with weeks of angry protests, acrimonious political rhetoric and intimidation of election officials.

Odinga refused to take part in the re-run, on grounds the election commission had failed to make the necessary changes to ensure a free and fair vote.

But many of his supporters ignored his call to stay peacefully at home and instead attempted to block the vote, clashing angrily with police who fired tear gas, water cannon and live bullets in the west and in Nairobi's hotspot slums.

While the August election saw long queues of voters, Thursday's vote was a different story with many polling stations empty or welcoming only a trickle of people.

Election chief Wafula Chebukati said data from over 90 percent of constituencies showed less than 35 percent of 19.6 million voters had cast their ballot.

That figure is a huge drop from the nearly 80 percent rate in the August poll and proof the boycott had held. 

With voting disrupted in four protest-hit counties where Odinga enjoys overwhelming support, Chebukati said he was postponing the vote there until Saturday, citing "security-related" challenges.

But the governor of Kisumu, an Odinga stronghold in western Kenya where violence raged on Thursday, rejected the move, saying people would not vote while they were "mourning".

- 'We won't vote tomorrow' - 

Outside Kisumu's morgue, a group of about 30 women stood weeping, with some holding up a sign saying: "Stop killing our sons".

"The police should stop killing us. Our sons are not for sacrifice," said Rose Nyadera, a 45-year-old butcher. 

"Tomorrow we won't go to the election. We do not want it to happen."

Elsewhere in Kisumu, things were slowing getting back to normal. 

Many shops were open and traffic was once again seen on the streets, although the remains of the barricades thrown up on Thursday were still visible and in some cases, roads were only partially open, with scraps of burnt tyre littering the floor. 

"Today, we are going back to normal. We rest, but tomorrow we will strike again. Because we do not want this election," explained Daniel Ayoga, 38, who sells second-hand bags. 

"Business is difficult for the moment. But we think it is worth it," he added, saying people were waiting for Odinga's instructions. 

After Thursday's chaos, the night was relatively calm, although witnesses reported sporadic shooting in the slums shortly before midnight. 

The confirmed casualties raised to 46 the total number of people killed in election-related violence since the August poll.

The crisis is the worst since a 2007 election sparked politically-driven ethnic violence that left 1,100 dead.