Nairobi - Kenya was still on a high Friday after voters overwhelmingly backed a long-awaited new constitution that should reduce the chances of further tribal conflict.

Nairobi - Kenya was still on a high Friday after voters overwhelmingly backed a long-awaited new constitution that should reduce the chances of further tribal conflict.

But while Kenya could see a short-term boost due to the peaceful nature of the vote, much hard work remains to be done before East Africa's largest economy begins to reap the full benefits of the wide-ranging new document.

Wednesday's referendum was the first national vote since over 1,300 people died in tribal clashes that followed opposition accusations that the December 2007 presidential elections were rigged in favour of incumbent Mwai Kibaki.

Over 67 per cent of the voters who turned out supported the new constitution, which will replace the document created after Kenya gained independence from Britain in 1963.

Fears of more violence proved unfounded despite tensions stoked by the church and some political leaders opposed to clauses on abortion and land reform.

The new electoral body drew praise for the efficient and transparent nature of the poll, which left no room for credible accusations of irregularities.

It was a far cry from December 2007, when a delay in announcing the winner prompted howls of outrage from backers of opposition leader Raila Odinga, now prime minister, and led to clashes between rival tribes.

The immediate benefit of the referendum for Kenya will be a boost to its damaged reputation as a stable state and, many hope, a boost to economic growth.

US Vice President Joe Biden, speaking during a visit to Kenya in June, said that the passage of the constitution would likely bring increased foreign investment. Analysts believe that this trend, helped by the recent inception of the East African common market, should slowly begin to assert itself.

"I think the overwhelming, and overwhelmingly calm, passage of the referendum is a significant step forward for Kenya in the minds of international investors, whose experience in the previous elections and its violent aftermath was quite negative," David Aserkoff, Strategist at the London-based Exotix, told the German Press Agency

Copyright DPA