Kenya tense ahead of vote

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Kenyan authorities said Tuesday they deployed 18,000 police officers in preparation for a constitutional referendum scheduled for Wednesday.

Kenya is preparing for the first vote since more than 1,000 people died in conflicts during the 2007-08 election campaign.

Kenyan officials said they didn't expect major outbreaks of violence because of the Wednesday vote but al-Jazeera reports that several hundred people in the Rift Valley have fled their homes out of fear of political violence.

Tribesman and rival gangs in the Rift Valley used machetes as well as bows and arrows to attack adversaries during the last election cycle.

Debate over the new constitution has been marked by minor skirmishes with two explosions in June killing at least five people in Nairobi.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga are in favor of the constitutional referendum, which reduces the power of the presidency and sets up two houses of parliament.

Both leaders signed a power-sharing agreement in 2008 and the constitutional effort is part of that measure.

Polls conducted in Kenya indicate most residents favor the new constitution.