Eager Kenya Voters Sample Democracy : Politics: Irregularities mar balloting, which marks start of transition from one-party rule to multi-party system.

NAIROBI, Kenya —  Several million Kenyans, eagerly sampling multi-party democracy for the first time in a quarter-century, battled long lines, tardy polling officials, misprinted ballots and even vote-buying candidates Tuesday to cast secret ballots for a new president and Parliament.

The voting, reported to have been mostly peaceful with a high turnout, marked the beginning of one of the most important transitions from one-party rule to multi-party democracy in Africa. If successful, it could usher in a new era of political tolerance in a country known for its popular safari industry as well as its abysmal human rights record.

But international observers, who visited hundreds of the 10,000 polling stations Tuesday, have been sharply critical of the election process in recent weeks. About 50 people have been killed in campaign violence since mid-October, and numerous government opposition rallies have been broken up by police.

The International Republican Institute, an independent American group observing the election, has said the campaign was “significantly compromised” by President Daniel Arap Moi’s government, which, among other things, has harassed opposition candidates and strictly limited air time for other political parties on state-run television and radio.

Almost 8 million Kenyans were registered to vote for president, for the 188-seat Parliament and for local councils. In recent years, Parliament has been dominated by sycophantic lawmakers who dared not contravene Moi’s policy decisions. With 10 parties contesting the election, Parliament is certain to seat at least some vociferous opponents of the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU).

Results are expected to be released today.

The voting itself “has been an administrative nightmare,” said Mary Coughlin, of the Republican Institute, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. “What remains to be seen,” she added, “is whether it is on purpose or by accident.”

Dozens of polling stations, scheduled to begin operating at 6 a.m., opened three or four hours late. There also were reports of polling officers marking ballots for voters, a shortage of ballots at some stations, late arrival of portable polling booths and ballots that were printed without the names of some parties’ candidates.

At one polling station, the family of a parliamentary candidate was said to be approaching voters in line and paying them 10 shillings (about 25 cents) to vote for their candidate.

Amos Wako, the country’s attorney general, said turnout was high. And he dismissed reported irregularities as insignificant and “something to be expected in an operation of this size.”

But international observers, who will issue formal reports today and Thursday on the polling, said they are concerned that the administrative problems might compromise the election.

Moi, whose 14 years of rule has been marred by allegations of corruption and human rights abuses, is, nevertheless, considered the likely victor among the seven presidential candidates. One reason is what international observers have called his government’s “centralized and systematic manipulation” of the election process.

But Moi also has benefited from infighting among his opponents, who split, mostly along ethnic lines, soon after they were legalized.

Moi, 68, a longtime opponent of multi-party democracy, reluctantly agreed last year to allow political opposition and new elections in the country after Western aid donors, including the United States, withheld $350 million in financial assistance from the country to protest the slow pace of political and economic reform.

Some political analysts believe a Moi victory would touch off renewed bloodshed in the country and perhaps a security crackdown.

Moi cast his ballot at dawn in the rolling hills of the Rift Valley, his power base. And, speaking to reporters later, he lashed out at Western governments, accusing them of forcing the election in hopes of unseating him.

“They have starved us for the last 12 months,” Moi said, referring to the aid cutoff. “I have been mistreated by foreign correspondents and the Western world purporting to be fighting for democracy when in fact they are against me.”

Moi’s opponents, though, have accused him of, at worst, using state coffers to line his own pockets and, at best, incompetent management of the economy. And Moi’s three major opponents--the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-Kenya (FORD-K), the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-Asili (FORD-Asili) and the Democratic Party--say he has used state powers to ensure that he wins the election.

“It really has not been a fair fight at all,” said Omweri Angima, a spokesman for FORD-K, which has nominated Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, 76, for president. Angima complained that the government denied permits for Odinga rallies and used tear gas to break up rallies in pro-government regions.

Moi’s opponents are united in their opposition to the government, but they have no significant ideological differences with the ruling party--or with each other. All the major parties say they support a free-market economy and greater security in a country where violent crime is rising rapidly.

The opposition has split largely on ethnic lines. FORD-K draws most of its support, for example, from Luos, the second-largest ethnic group in Kenya accounting for about 13% of the population. The country’s largest and most influential ethnic group, the Kikuyu, 21% of the population, have themselves split between FORD-Asili, which means “FORD-Real,” and the Democratic Party.

FORD-Asili has nominated Kenneth Matiba, for president, while the Democrats have nominated Mwai Kibaki, a former Kenyan vice president and Moi Cabinet minister who resigned from the government.