NAIROBI: Kenya has rolled out new technology in an attempt to ensure Monday's presidential election is transparent and proves the east African nation can rebuild its image after a disputed 2007 poll unleashed weeks of ethnic killing.
Independent monitors have routinely reported "ghost" voters, stuffed ballot boxes and other violations in Kenyan votes. But the 2007 race was the bloodiest with more than 1,200 people butchered in fighting between loyalists of rival candidates.
Kenya cannot afford a re-run of the mayhem that brought east Africa's largest economy to standstill and damaged trade routes to nearby states.
Western donors worry about the stability of a regional ally in their fight against militant Islam.
This time, once votes are counted, the results from each polling station will be electronically transmitted to the central election commission, as well as being publicly displayed.
The new system, similar to the one used in Ghana's smooth 2012 vote, aims to eliminate errors and prevent accusations of foul play.
Voting will still be on paper ballots, but voter identification will be electronic.
Mobile devices at polling stations will not be able to send out any result where total votes exceed registered voters, a common fraud complaint before, the election commission said.
The two top contenders in the presidential poll, Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta who have joined the other candidates in calling for a peaceful vote held final rallies in Nairobi on Saturday before thousands of chanting supporters in a final push before a campaign blackout on Sunday.
"We have put in a significant number of controls to make sure things that happened previously don't happen," said Dismas Ong'ondi, director of information and communication technology at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), which replaced the body that oversaw the last vote.
"People become anxious when you delay releasing results," he said, after delays were partly blamed for the eruption of violence following the 2007 vote.
This time provisional results could emerge within hours of polls closing, although the IEBC has seven days to announce the official outcome.
Supporters of Odinga, who contested the 2007 vote against outgoing President Mwai Kibaki, were outraged when they were told after a long wait that their candidate had lost, and some alleged voting fraud.
Kibaki was sworn in at night away from the public eye in another move that angered rivals.
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