Obama takes an early lead

Americans turned out in large numbers to elect their next president with early indications showing that Democrat Barack Obama was set to win the election.

More than 130 million voters were expected to cast their ballots to decide who will be America’s 44th president.

Mr Obama, the son of a Kenyan father, voted with his wife Michelle in his own Illinois state at the Chicago Elementary School at 4.15pm Kenyan time. The couple was accompanied by their two daughters.

And in the first polling station to release results, Mr Obama emerged victorious, winning 15 of 21 votes cast in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. Mr McCain got six votes. The town has never voted for a Democrat since 1968.

And in Hart’s Location, Mr Obama got 17 votes against Mr McCain’s 10.

Mr Obama had a clear lead in all national opinion polls. His Republican rival, Sen John McCain was struggling to beat back a challenge from Obama in about a dozen states won by President George W. Bush in 2004.

New state surveys showed Mr Obama with a slim one-point lead in Florida and two-point edge in Ohio, within the margin of error of 4.1 percentage points. Obama had bigger leads in Virginia and Nevada.

Those four states, all won by Bush in the last election, have a total of 65 electoral votes.

Later in the day, the Obama campaign team released a press statement saying that his grandmother, Mrs Madelyn Dunham, had died in the morning after a long battle with cancer.

Last week, Mr Obama suspended his campaigns for two days to visit her in hospital.

Polls were already open across more than half the US and TV stations showed long lines of voters in many places. The election was expected to close in parts of Indiana and Kentucky at 6pm and over the following six hours in the other 48 states and the District of Columbia.

Mr Obama, 47, a first-term senator from Illinois, would be the first African-American US president.

Opinion polls indicated that he is running ahead of Mr McCain in enough states to give him more than the 270 electoral votes he needs to win.

A victory for McCain, 72, would make him the oldest president to begin a first term in the White House and make his running mate, Mrs Sarah Palin, the first female US vice-president.

Mr Obama’s running mate, Mr Joe Biden, voted in Delaware at 5.15pm Kenyan time.

Mr McCain was expected to vote in his home state of Harizona at 7pm Kenyan time. Mrs Palin was expected to vote in her Alaska state before end of voting at 9am Wednesday.

In many towns across Kenya, wananchi were glued to their television screens expecting early results. Substantive results were expected to have started trickling from 3am.

And in Kisumu, a mock voting was characterised by a long queue in front of the booth with Mr Obama’s portrait.

Hotels and entertainment spots in Kisumu, Nairobi and Mombasa were making arrangements for their patrons to keep vigil to monitor the results.

In Mombasa, two giant burgers — one called Obama and the other, McCain — prepared by the staff of Sarova Whitesands beach resort, will be the highlight of celebrations ushering in the new US president. 

According to the hotel’s general manager, Mr Mohammed Hirsi, the special double-decker hamburgers were prepared to commemorate the event.

And following the death of Mrs Dunham, Mr Obama’s family in Kogelo sent him a condolence message, but urged him to soldier on until the results are announced.

Inter-denominational prayers were conducted in the village as the election was going on in the US.

According to opinion polls, Mr Obama was expected to garner 317 of the 538 electoral college votes — more than the 270 he needs to become America’s next president.

He led by 10 percentage points in Pennsylvania, which Mr McCain has targeted as his best chance to steal a state won by John Kerry in 2004.

Missouri, where Mr Obama led by one percentage point on Monday, was by yesterday dead even at 49 per cent for each of the candidates.

And in Indiana, Mr McCain leads Mr Obama by five points. The state has not supported a Democrat for president since 1964. Mr Obama was expected to campaign in the state by Tuesday evening.

In North Carolina, Mr McCain was ahead of Mr Obama by a 1-point margin. The state has not voted for a Democratic since 1976.

“It looks like it could be a big victory for Obama, and McCain has to win essentially all of the states still in play,” said pollster John Zogby.