Clinton wins (in Obama's Kenyan family village)

By Magdalene Mukami and Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya

Democrat presidential contender Hillary Clinton beat her Republican rival by a landslide on Tuesday -- in a vote held in President Barack Obama’s ancestral village in Kenya.

In what is unlikely to be an accurate barometer of the real race, the electorate of Kogello, which numbers in its hundreds rather than thousands let alone millions, voted by 76 percent in favor of Clinton while 22 percent supported Donald Trump.

Many turned out at the village election booth early in the morning to cast their votes in two boxes bearing photographs of either candidate. Organizers were dressed in the colors of the U.S. flag as they passed out ballot cards.

“Obama came from this village, so you expect most of the residents to support whoever President Obama is supporting,” local businessman Kennedy Otieno told Anadolu Agency by telephone. “I voted for Clinton.”

In a country where the rigging of elections is a commonly heard allegation, beefy security guards were present to assure no underhand dealings. “No rigging, free and fair elections, our elections are free and fair,” a voter shouted as he passed the polling station.

The village, which lies near Lake Victoria in eastern Kenya, is the home of Obama’s father.