ON SATURDAY THE New York Times published an investigation into a “secret U.S. exit poll” in Kenya’s 2007 presidential election. In December of that year, Mwai Kibaki defeated Raila Odinga to win a second term as President of Kenya. According to the official results, Kibaki overcame Odinga’s pre-election lead in the polls to win by some 200,000 votes, about 2 percent of the total ballots cast. Just three days later, Kibaki was sworn in as violent protests by Odinga supporters spread across the country.
Despite widespread suspicions of fraud, the State Department promptly congratulated Kibaki on his victory, only to retract the statement after the European Union voiced doubts about the integrity of the election. A few days later reports emerged of an unreleased exit poll conducted by the International Republican Institute (IRI) that showed Odinga had actually won the race by 8 points.
