In Kenya, Early Tallies Show Kibaki Trailing

The constant undercurrent of the election season, however, has been tribalism, with Odinga's supporters accusing Kibaki of favoring his own ethnic group, the Kikuyu, and Kibaki's supporters fearing that if Odinga wins, they will suffer a backlash.

"I am very, very concerned," said Peter Muchiri, who sells construction equipment, offering that Kikuyus have been vilified for their hard-earned success. "The perception that Kikuyus have benefited more comes out of ignorance."

Muchiri voted at an elementary school in the town of Kiambu, a Kibaki stronghold just outside Nairobi, where there were two single-file lines and no voter complaints.

In the urban crush of Kibera, where most polling stations opened late, the situation was rockier.

Rumors that lists of names beginning with A and O were missing circulated among voters, who occasionally erupted in impatient shouts but mostly remained calm as the day dragged on. Delays prevented Odinga from voting for nearly four hours.

"It's on purpose," said Terry Ombaka, 22, a musician and Odinga supporter who had endured the shadeless "O" line for eight hours and counting. She added: "I'd rather die here than not vote."

With expectations high among Odinga's supporters, there were also fears that if he did not win, volatile areas such as Kibera might erupt in riots.

On Thursday, groups of young vigilantes who rule Kibera hovered around, checking cars for anything that might suggest vote-rigging. One young man vowed that he would "go guerrilla" if Odinga did not win.

But others standing in the long lines -- electricians, mechanics, cellphone vendors, corn-on-the-cob hawkers -- said their country had moved beyond that.

"We will accept the results of our fellow Kenyans," said Kennedy Mango, 34, who still had a good two hours of waiting to go.

Special correspondent Charles Wachira contributed to this report.