Kenya presidential candidate hovers around 50%

Kenya faced a photo finish in its race for president on Friday as the last ballots were counted. The leading candidate, Uhuru Kenyatta, saw his percentage yo-yo around the crucial 50 percent mark, as officials told The Associated Press it appeared likely Kenyatta could win a majority. The latest vote tally showed Kenyatta, the deputy prime minister, with 49.93 percent of the vote. Nearly 90 percent of voting locations had been tabulated. Kenyatta has frequently broken above the 50 percent level as the election commission continues to update its numbers. Electoral expert Tom Wolf, a research analyst with the polling firm Ipsos Synovate, told The Associated Press that the outstanding votes coming in from Kenya's Rift Valley are a 'very abundant vote basket' for Kenyatta. His running mate, William Ruto, is from the Rift. The 50 percent mark is important for Kenyatta to avoid a runoff with the other top candidate, Prime Minister Raila Odinga. A Western election observer said the international community was forming a consensus around the belief that Kenyatta was likely to win outright. There was also a belief that Odinga was not likely to protest the vote in a manner that would increase the chances of violence, the observer said, but rather honor his pledge to respect the result and petition the courts with any grievances.