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NAIROBI, Kenya — A millionaire opposition leader who cast himself as a champion of the poor appeared poised to unseat the incumbent Kenyan president, according to preliminary official results of the election and media tallies Friday.

The race pitted President Mwai Kibaki against his former ally, Raila Odinga, and marked the first time an incumbent had faced a credible challenge in Kenya’s four decades of independence from Britain. The race focused largely on corruption, with both candidates vowing to end the graft and tribal favoritism that has tainted politics here for years.

A string of Kibaki’s allies in parliament were also being unseated in the vote. Kenyans clustered around radios and televisions as results trickled in. But by Friday evening, the electoral commission had announced preliminary results in only 68 of Kenya’s 210 constituencies. They showed Odinga with a slim lead of 1,665,714 to Kibaki’s 1,169,631. Media tallies said to be based on actual results showed Odinga with a more commanding lead.

South Africa’s Zuma

ordered to stand trial for corruption, lawyer says

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — The newly elected leader of South Africa’s ruling party was ordered to stand trial on corruption and other charges next year, possibly derailing his attempts to become president.

Jacob Zuma will be tried in the High Court in August on charges of racketeering, money laundering, corruption and fraud, his lawyer Michael Hulley said Friday.

Zuma, 65, defeated President Thabo Mbeki last week in a bitterly contested election for the leadership of African National Congress. The battle left deep rifts in the 85-year-old ANC that Nelson Mandela led to victory over the racist apartheid state.

The ANC leader is traditionally the party’s presidential candidate, and its overwhelming backing has ensured election victories first for Mandela in 1994, then Mbeki in 1999 and 2004.