(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-12-29 21:40

In the capital, about 6 miles outside the deserted city center, police blocked off streets as young men climbed up billboards to rip down Odinga posters.

"Kibaki come back!" the men shouted as they waved machetes and sticks.

Violence was a major worry in the run-up to the election, and several diplomats have expressed concern that a narrow victory on either side could lead to rioting by those who do not accept or trust the results. The voting was generally orderly, and no major disruptions were reported. But as the results trickled in slowly, suspicions about rigging flared.

Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement party said the government was deliberately delaying results because they were losing. Police appealed for calm.

"We'd like the ECK (Electoral Commission of Kenya) to announce the results in order to ensure that the political temperature does not go up," said Joseph Nyagah, an ODM official.

About 20 miles outside Nairobi, hundreds of people massed along a main highway.

"They are looting houses and stoning cars," Irungu Wakogi, a witness, told The Associated Press by telephone.

In Kisumu, some 185 miles from Nairobi, shops were being looted and the streets were clogged with protesters. "People are demonstrating because of the delayed announcement," said Grace Kaindi, a police official in the city.

U.S. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger appealed for calm. "Give this process a chance to be finished," he said. "This is the time for Kenyans to come together."

If Kibaki loses, he will be Kenya's first sitting president ousted at the ballot box. The 76-year-old has been credited with helping boost this East African nation's economy, with a growth rate that is among the highest in Africa and a booming tourism industry.

But his anti-graft campaign has largely been seen as a failure, and the country still struggles with tribalism and poverty.

Odinga, a 62-year-old former political prisoner, promised change and help for the poor. His main constituency, Kibera, is home to at least 700,000 people who live in extreme poverty.

Kibaki won by a landslide victory in 2002, ending 24 years in power by Daniel arap Moi, who was constitutionally barred from extending his term. Moi's blanket use of patronage resulted in crippling mismanagement and a culture of corruption that plunged Kenya into an economic crisis.

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