Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News, Eldoret

Eldoret town, in Kenya’s Rift Valley, is deserted with early indications from electoral commission showing a large voter turnout in Uasin Gishu county.

Many shops remain closed with business owners saying they allowed their workers time off to cast their votes. Only a few premises remain open.

Image source, BBC's Robert Kiptoo

At polling stations, voters have been urging electoral officials to work faster to accommodate the large number of people who have been queuing up from as early as 04:00 local time.

William Ruto, one of the presidential frontrunners, hails from Uasin Gishu county.

In his hometown of Sugoi, motorcycle riders have abandoned their day jobs and have instead volunteered to take the sick and elderly to polling stations for free:

Image source, BBC's Robert Kiptoo

Kenya is a regional economic giant and what happens there affects the rest of East Africa.

In recent years it has lost ground to Ethiopia, but if you look at the average income per person in Kenya then, at just over $2,000, it is more than double its northern neighbour.

However, this crude figure estimated last year, masks the huge inequalities in the country and may not include the full impact of the shutdowns introduced in response to the Covid pandemic.

Kenya’s electoral commission announced on Monday that voting for governors and MPs would not go ahead in four parts of the country because of a mix up in the printing of ballot papers, including in Mombasa.

But the BBC Somali Service's Mohamed Harare says this has not affected voters at polling stations he has been to in coastal area:

Kenya's 22 million registered voters are choosing:

• A president

• A county governor
• A senator
• A member of the National Assembly
• A women’s representative in the National Assembly
• A member of the county legislature.

BBC Monitoring
The world through its media

The East African media have extensively reported on Kenya’s general election, highlighting the geopolitical significance of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s succession.

Tanzania’s Swahili-language Mwananchi newspaper has published a front-page story about the Kenyan electoral commission's sacking of four officials for allegedly meeting poll candidates.

On Monday, it published an editorial cartoon on its front page titled “A heated 24 hours for Kenya”, which depicted the four Kenyan presidential contenders jostling to enter State House.

The Citizen, a sister publication of Mwananchi, carried a front-page report with the headline: “What Kenyans will be voting for in today’s elections”, comparing and contrasting the manifestos of the main presidential candidates, William Ruto and Raila Odinga.

In Uganda, the private NTV television channel reported in its Monday evening bulletins that the country had put in place plans in the election caused disruptions to fuel supplies.

Landlocked Uganda, where President Yoweri Museveni is serving a sixth term in office, relies on Kenya for most of its fuel and food imports.

Uganda’s leading Daily Monitor website in an editorial on Monday hailed Kenya for respecting presidential term limits, external and urged other countries in the region to emulate it.

The East African weekly newspaper said the region was “holding its breath” over the Kenyan election.

Anti-riot police have been deployed to Rongai constituency in Nakuru county - just north-west of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, reports the BBC’s David Wafula.

It follows a demonstration outside Mercy Njeri polling station after voting for area’s MP was suspended due to a mix-up with voting papers, he says.

But the other ballots have not been disrupted, and people are still streaming in to vote, our reporter says.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has voted at a polling station at his home county of Kiambu in central Kenya.

“I believe this election will be free and fair, the voting process was smooth,” he told journalists after casting his ballot.

The president voted soon after his mother - former first lady Ngina Kenyatta, who is known as Mama Ngina and was married to Kenya's first post-independence leader Jomo Kenyatta.

Local media shared video of Mr Kenyatta's remarks after voting:

President Kenyatta is stepping down after his second and final five-year term comes to an end, in line with the constitution.

His deputy, William Ruto, is seeking to succeed him, but Mr Kenyatta is supporting Raila Odina, the former prime minister and his one-time rival.

Mercy Juma
BBC News, Nairobi

Raila Odinga, one of the Kenyan presidential frontrunners, has arrived at a polling centre in the Kibra constituency of the capital, Nairobi, where he cast his vote.

The constituency is dominated by the Kibera slum - where the former prime minister was swarmed by many of his supporters.

All voting queues were disrupted and there was massive chanting, with police unable to control the crowd.

Image source, Reuters

Earlier, hundreds of people in this part of the capital braved the chilly morning weather and were on in the queues from as early as 04:00 local time waiting for the voting stations to open.

There were women with children on their backs and old people who were being assisted to walk into their polling centres.

The queues stretched as far as 2km (more than one mile) back.

While voting closes at 17:00 local time, people on the queue will be allowed to vote even beyond that hour.

Image source, Alex Mutuku

A voter in Kenya has told the BBC that he has found the name of his dead father on the electoral register.

Ambrose Muasya died in October 2018 but is still registered to vote in Machakos town, near the capital, Nairobi, his son Alex Mutuku says.

This is despite the family surrendering their father's identity card to the Registrar of Persons - which should have led to the removal of his name from the roll.

Mr Mutuku said he had been at dinner recently and heard someone saying that they had found their late uncle registered to vote on a website provided by the electoral commission for voter verification.

So last night he decided to run his father's name through the website and was shocked to find him still a registered voter.

"I'm just concerned that probably there is no synchrony between the Registrar of Persons and IEBC [Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission]. Because we did surrender his identity card," he told the BBC.

"I think there is some data cleaning yet to happen."

Image source, Alex Mutuku

Hassan Gelle
BBC News, Wajir

While polling stations have opened peacefully in most parts of north-eastern Kenya, there are reports of raids and voter intimidation in some areas by al-Shabab Islamist militants.

The region’s proximity to Somalia’s border makes it vulnerable to attack by al-Shabab, notorious for raiding the region’s Garissa University in 2015.

Last night, suspected militants are believed to have attacked villages and settlements in parts of Mandera county along the border.

Communication lines have been cut to the area - where it is thought Arabia town, around 70km (40 miles) east of Mandera town, was targeted.

Locals along that stretch of border are refusing to talk to the media, fearing repercussions both from the jihadists and government security personnel who like to downplay militant activities, especially during an election.

There have also been reports of militants preventing people from travelling to their respective polling stations in parts of Wajir East, another constituency along the border.

In Qarsa village, residents - who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity - described how militants had ordered passengers onboard a truck ferrying voters to disembark and later set it on fire.

They say the insurgents have been issuing warnings to locals not to take part in the election.

Contacted for comment, Wajir County police commander, Hilary Toroitich, did not pick up the BBC’s calls or respond to text messages.

There are also been reports of incidents that have forced electoral officials to delay despatching voting material to polling stations:

• In Konton village, also Wajir East constituency, shots – thought to be coming from al-Shabab fighters – were being fired from the bush
• In Eldas constituency, west of Wajir town, there are reports of violence as supporters of a parliamentary candidate are said to be blocking electoral officials.

No voting has taken in any of Eldas constituency's 72 polling stations.

In Eldas town, gunshots were also heard at the main tallying centre last night, but the BBC has been unable to confirm what happened.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu has sent Kenyans her good wishes as they vote in the general election.

“I wish our Kenyan neighbours a good election. I pray that God be with you as you fulfil your constitutional right to get the leaders that you want,” she says in a tweet., external

She has asked Kenyans to “maintain peace, unity and solidarity" and added "all the best”.

Kenya’s East African neighbours will be counting on a smooth election to avoid a disruption of the regional economy – with Kenya being a key transit link to Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The violence that followed in the aftermath of the 2007 elections disrupted the flow of goods into the region.

One factor which may determine how people vote is ethnicity.

Raila Odinga (a Luo) and William Ruto (a Kalenjin) could attract the votes of their respective ethnic groups.

But this is the first Kenyan election in the multiparty era where none of the front-runners are from the biggest group, the Kikuyu.

Both Mr Odinga and Mr Ruto have chosen Kikuyu running mates.

Presidential running mate Rigathi Gachagua was forced to wait longer before casting his ballot after a biometric voter-identification kit couldn't recognise him at first.

The kits identify voters through their finger prints before they are allowed to vote.

Local media first reported that he was only able to cast his ballot after being identified through the back-up printed voter register.

But in fact after several attempts Mr Gachagua then rubbed his fingers through his hair and this seemed to do the trick for the ID kit.

Local broadcaster Citizen TV has tweeted a video of the moment:

The biometric kits are reported to be also causing delays because of the time they take to recognise finger prints.

It takes between five to 10 minutes for a voter to get recognised amid long queues of voters.

Update: This post has been amended to reflect that the ID kit did identify Rigathi Gachagua in the end.

Aboubakar Famau
BBC News, Mombasa

As voting has got under way elsewhere in Kenya, some delays are being witnessed in some parts of Mombasa county on the coast.

Some voters who arrived before polls were due to open three hours ago at 06:00 (3:00 GMT) are still waiting in queues.

Many arrived well before dawn, wanting to vote early.

Residents from Mvita area of Mombasa city have been particularly concerned and told me of their frustration at the delay.

Many have been looking at their phones to try and find out the latest information about the delays - as there were no explanations given.

But electoral officials there have just received the voting material - so the hope is that the queues will start moving soon.

Voting was also slow to start at another centre in the city with gates opening half an hour late.

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News, Eldoret

Image source, William Ruto / Facebook

Deputy President William Ruto has told the BBC that he is ready to accept the results of a free and fair electoral process.

After casting his vote early in the morning in Uasin Gishu County in the Rift Valley, he said:

In the north-eastern Kenyan county of Wajir, voting has not started in some areas as election materials have not been distributed yet, a BBC reporter says.

Fewer people have been queueing up to vote, with the lines shorter than the ones witnessed elsewhere in the country.

In the northern county of Marsabit, about six centres in Loiyangalani are also yet to receive poll materials.

Kenya's meteorological department says the majority of the country is likely to be dry this week.

Light rains may fall in western, Rift Valley, central and coastal regions, it says.

Daytime temperatures are expected to be high, more than 30C in parts of the coast, north-eastern and north-western.

More than 22 million Kenyans have registered to vote and they will be casting at least six ballots.

Voters will be choosing:

• President

• County governor
• Senator
• Member of the National Assembly
• Women’s representative in the National Assembly
• Member of the county legislature.

Mwaure Waihiga, one of the four Kenyan presidential candidates, has cast his ballot at a polling station in the capital, Nairobi.

The state broadcaster has shared a video of the candidate voting at Upper Hill Secondary School:

Earlier on, Deputy President William Ruto, one of the frontrunners cast his vote at Kosachei Primary School in the Rift Valley region.

His running mate, Rigathi Gachagua, also voted at a polling station in his home country in central Kenya, as did Martha Karua, the deputy presidential candidate who is running alongside the other frontrunner Raila Odinga.

Voters at a polling station in the capital, Nairobi, became agitated after voting failed to start on time.

"There will be chaos here if we don't start voting," one of the party agents told the BBC's Dickens Olewe.

"Open the gates we want to vote," a man shouted. "It’s my right, I came here early, I want to go to work."

Election materials arrived late and set-up was ongoing.

Voting has since started about an hour and a half late.

The BBC's Mercy Juma shared this photo of Selah Zainabu, a woman who had been queueing up with her two-year-old baby from 04:00 local time, despite the chilling morning cold in the capital, Nairobi.

She said it was because she had no-one to leave the baby with at home:

Elsewhere in Nakuru city in the Rift Valley region, Alice Adhiambo started queueing at 03:00 with her daughter on her back, with no-one at home to look after her baby girl.

She tells the BBC that she is happy she has voted for her favourite candidates and prays they get to win.

Expectant mothers and those with babies, the elderly and the disabled are usually given priority during voting.