CNN news 2013-03-08 加文本

cnn news 2013-03-08

It's March fifth edition of cnn student news. We're heading to the African nation of Kenya. It's a home to about 43 million people, Kenya's government is a Republic where the citizens elect their leaders and that's what they did yesterday.

"This comes after a new constitution was passed in 2010, and it's the most complex election in Kenya's history. People would be voting for member of county assembly, governor, senator, woman's member of national assembly, member of national assembly, and finally president."

Part of the reason why Kenya's constitution change was the violence that followed the country's last presidential election. The results were challenged, supporters of different candidates fought each other, more than 1,200 people were killed. The changes to the country's government were designed to make future elections more peaceful.

"People have been turning out to vote in the polling station like this one in the poor city of Mombassa, since before, 6:00 am in the morning when the polling station is open, some places we visited had lines half a mile long, and that's despite fears of possibility of tribal violence."

There were some reports of violence during yesterday's voting, bombs exploded at two polling stations, there was a stampede at another voting site. And some police officers were attacked. Some Kenyans were preparing for this kind of thing before the election, and they were planning to use social media to help reduce the violence on election day. Nima Elbagir explains how.

During the violence that marred the 2007 elections here, citizen journalists were crucial in helping to pinpoint the worst affected areas, and none more or so than Ushahidi which means witness in Swahili, you now have been working on different ways to ensure that this election, mmm, is transparent.

"What you see here is a team full of digital humanitarians, the people that deal with the data that we get into the system. Uchaguzi, the Swahili name for elections, that's just the name of the platform that we've deployed for this election. We have partners, you know, across the country, sending us information, but also verifying information that we get and the second tool that we use is a technology platform, Tutugudidosiyidokeyi(乱写的) and the various apps that go along with it."

Cause the apps are really cool, you've sure got one on your phone right here. And so people go online and they download the app and then anyone in the country, if they see something that they have concerned about, they just go onto the app and report it, or they tweet it, or they take a picture, and it reaches you immediately.

So you have the power in your hands to protect your votes, and that's what we're doing at ordinary citizens directing together to protect our vote and our electoral process.