THAT'S MY GRANDSON: Mr Obama's grandmother pointing to a campaign poster inside her home. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

The early results were encouraging on Tuesday, bringing a whoop of satisfaction from the US presidential candidate's uncle.

'Ah, that's wonderful,' Mr Said Obama declared, breaking into a wide grin. 'But I don't want to jump just yet.'

Results of the New Hampshire voting did not become clear until well after midnight in Kenya, with Mr Obama finishing a close second to Mrs Hillary Clinton.

Mr Said Obama remained optimistic yesterday, saying: 'He still stands a good chance. I don't think it's too much of a setback because there was a time he was trailing Hillary, and if he was the kind of man who gives up, he would have given up then.'

Kogelo, the western Kenyan village of Mr Obama's father, has been spared the political and ethnic violence that has erupted in the country after last month's disputed presidential election.

But it is just a 90-minute drive from a town where torched and looted buildings bear testimony to the clashes that have left more than 500 people dead.

While the dispute is political, violence has pitted other tribes - such as the Obamas' Luo - against the Kikuyu of President Mwai Kibaki who have long dominated politics and the economy in Kenya.

Mr Obama's spokesman, Mr Robert Gibbs, confirmed that the senator spoke to opposition leader Raila Odinga for about five minutes on Monday before going into a rally in New Hampshire.

Mr Odinga, a Luo, told British Broadcasting Corp radio that Mr Obama's father was his uncle, and that Mr Obama called him 'to express his concern'.

Mr Gibbs said Mr Odinga and Mr Obama's father are from the same tribe, though he was unaware that they are related.

Mr Obama, speaking on Tuesday in New Hampshire, said he urged that 'all the leaders there, regardless of their position on the election, tell their supporters to stand down, to desist with the violence and resolve in a peaceful way in accordance with Kenyan law'.

ASSOCIATED PRESS