Referendum: What other media said

The Standard: Kenyans wake up to a ‘Green Revolution’ as the latest provisional results show a majority of voters rewriting the country’s history, with an emphatic endorsement of the proposed constitution. If the provisional results match the final tally to be announced by the IIEC, President Kibaki must sign the historic document into law within 14 days.

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The Star: Results posted by the Interim Independent Electoral Commission last night indicated an early lead. Just after 10pm, IIEC chairman Ahmed Issack Hassan said that ‘Yes’ was leading with 2,982,847 or 67 per cent of the votes while ‘No’ had 1,515,744 or 33 per cent. Total votes counted at that stage were 4,498,591 from 12,459 polling stations.

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The Daily Monitor: Kenya’s referendum was peaceful even in areas identified as potential conflict zones. An organisation working with the Kenyan government to monitor cases of incitement and violence during the referendum said; “So far, the security presence across the country is “extremely reassuring to Kenyans.”

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BBC Online: Leaders of the campaign to vote against a new constitution in Kenya have admitted defeat in a referendum. Preliminary results show almost 70% of voters have backed the changes, which will severely curtail the powers of the president. Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi, head of the “yes” campaign, said Kenya had been “reborn”.

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New York Times, US: Kenya’s new constitution, written to alleviate longstanding problems that have undermined good governance here for decades, received overwhelming approval from voters in a referendum on Wednesday, according to provisional results released by election officials on Thursday morning.

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The Guardian: Kenyans have voted overwhelming in favour of a new constitution designed to curb the president’s sweeping powers and entrench citizens’ basic rights. The poll was seen as a test of Kenya’s progress since late 2007, when a presidential election descended into violence, costing more than 1,300 lives. Voting passed off peacefully, amid huge security.