Odinga's Dilemma

It's more complicated than Al Gore's in 2000. The Kenyan election was almost certainly rigged, but contesting it violently could tear Kenya part on tribal lines and undermine its recent progress. But leaving the result in place is no panacea either:

The head of a European Union team of observers, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, promptly spoke about deep misgivings concerning the counting process. Diplomats in Nairobi, the capital, pointed the finger at the Kikuyu old guard, men who had feared that they would lose their fortunes if Mr Odinga had made it into State House. Even if Mr Kibaki's cronies are innocent of charges of vote rigging, he will have no national mandate: outside of the Kikuyu lands, Mr Kibaki was soundly beaten across the country, including in Nairobi.

And yet a legal challenge could be endless and fruitless. One Kenyan blogger saw it coming:

The harmless grand father seated inside State House was asked by a BBC journalist 3 days ago whether he would hand over power peacefully if he lost the elections. His reply was in Swahili and so rude that many Kenyans reading this will still not believe that it is Mwai Kibaki. He said: Wacha Kuniuliza swali ya Upumbavu. (Stop asking me a stupid question.)

Another fears the country is a few steps away from Rwanda's recent fate. More blogger reax from the scene here.