Opposition leader in Kenya, Raila Odinga, continues to whine and create ethnic tension that there is a fraud in the on-going vote count, which puts Uhuru Kenyatta on top with over 54% to his 44%, but the Commonwealth Observer Group says the election itself was credible, fair, and inclusive.
\nAt least two persons have been killed in the protests that have followed the announcements of early results and Odinga’s rejection in his electoral strongholds.
\nJohn Mahama, Chair of the Commonwealth Observer Group in Kenya and former President of Ghana, has commended Kenyans for their patience in waiting for final election results.
\nIn his interim statement, he asked for continued patience as results continue to be finalised.
\n\u201cWe have followed the whole process and wish to congratulate all on the process thus far. It is my fervent hope and expectation that the positive, peaceful and orderly atmosphere that we all experienced on 8 August 2017 will continue to prevail as we await the conclusion of this electoral process,\u201d he stated.
\n\u201cOur overall conclusion is that the opening, voting, closing and counting process at the polling stations on 8 August 2017 were credible, transparent and inclusive. We commend and congratulate Kenyan voters, the staff of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, political party agents, candidates\u2019 agents, the media and all security personnel for their commitment to the democratic process,\u201d he concluded.
\nThe complex election for six levels of government, undertaken at a cost that is reported to have made it one of the most expensive per capita elections ever, is still not over. \u00a0But it is producing results.
\nKenya, for the first time, has a number of women governors. Additional history has been made in the North Eastern district bordering with Somalia, where a woman was elected as MP. Again, it\u2019s a first.
\nBut two days after the polls have closed, all eyes are on the still-contested Presidential race, after the leader of the opposition, Raila Odinga, declared that the transmission system had been hacked and the figures broadcast from the national tallying centre were false. \u00a0The tone of his complaint, its public nature and the risk that such statements might cause followers to take to the streets raised immediate alarm.
\nIn his western heartland of Kisumu, there were tyre burnings and clashes. A few violent deaths have occurred over the election period although initial reports suggest these may have happened during attempts at looting.
\nKenya is not a country where allegations of election fraud can be taken lightly. In his interim statement Mr. Mahama said Mr. Odinga\u2019s claim has been taken seriously.
\nBut, he continued, \u201cwe are mindful that the process of collating the results is still on-going. I wish to reiterate my earlier call for leadership, and I therefore call upon all political party leaders and their supporters to show restraint and magnanimity as the results process continues to unfold. It is vital that all political leaders maintain peace and calm, exercise patience and not stampede the process.\u201d
\nMr. Mahama emphasised, in common with all other international Observer Groups present for the election, that the electronic transmission is only one part of the process, that the numbers known through that system are provisional, and that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), have been clear that the final result for the Presidency will only be announced after verification using the paper forms.
\nThese forms were signed off at polling stations by officials and party agents. More than thirty thousand scans of these documents are now being checked in the presence of party representatives.
\nMr. Mahama, who has himself had elections contested in courts and who lost office last year in Ghana, said that the IEBC should be given time by politicians to complete all the established processes. If there are still issues, then candidates can take the issue to the courts.
\nPraising the election process so far, and the patience of the Kenyan people who often experienced long queues and delays, he said an election dispute is not worth the loss of a single life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Opposition leader in Kenya, Raila Odinga, continues to whine and create ethnic tension that there is a fraud in the on-going vote count, which puts Uhuru Kenyatta on top with over 54% to his 44%, but the Commonwealth Observer Group says the election itself was credible, fair, and inclusive. At least two persons have been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4303\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}