IEBC calls off repeat presidential poll in Nyanza indefinitely
What you need to know:
- In Kisumu, voting materials remained in the stores after presiding officers failed to pick them for fear of being victimised.
- Mr Chebukati painted the picture of a commission under intense pressure, describing the circumstances some poll officials faced.
The electoral agency on Friday evening announced the postponement for a second time of the repeat presidential election in four Nyanza counties that failed to vote on Thursday, to a date yet to be announced.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will, however, on Saturday conduct the election in five polling stations in Fafi constituency and five in Turkana Central that had also failed to conduct the poll due to insecurity and heavy rainfall, respectively.
In all of the 40,883 polling stations nationwide, 3,635 of them failed to vote in the election that was boycotted by the Raila Odinga-led National Super Alliance (Nasa).
IEBC OFFICIALS
The 3,635 polling stations represent a total of 1,770,475 voters, representing nine per cent of the total number of voters IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati told journalists at the Bomas of Kenya, the National Tallying Centre.
“Yesterday (Thursday), some of our staff were hijacked, tortured in some areas, some of their homes broken into and looted.
"Others were violently prevented from reporting to their polling stations and were literally chased away. Some had to take refuge in polling stations up to now,” Mr Chebukati said.
He stressed that when it comes to its staff being in danger of losing their lives, the commission is concerned, and thus the postponement.
FINAL VOTE
The bulk of the constituencies where the repeat election was postponed are in Kisumu, Homa Bay, Siaya, and Migori.
There was voting only in Kuria East and Kuria West in Migori County.
Mr Chebukati had on Thursday announced that the commission will make a decision on whether or not to announce the final vote without the remaining polling stations.
This is provided for in the Elections Act in places where the IEBC cannot guarantee the safety of its staff, or the election itself.
On Thursday, some Nasa supporters prevented the election from happening in the four counties, strongholds of Mr Odinga’s Nasa.
POLL RESULTS
Some of the more creative means included welding and riveting shut gates of schools, which serve as polling stations.
There were more violent methods, which resulted in day-long running battles.
On Friday, Mr Chebukati painted the picture of a commission under intense pressure, describing the horrendous circumstances some poll officials faced, as they were intimidated, harassed and in some cases tortured.
The chairman spoke after the commission began announcing, one by one, results from the constituencies where voting happened.
It appeared that Kenyans will have to wait longer for the results of the fresh poll.
FORMS 34A
In one of the major changes from the process followed in the annulled August presidential election, each returning officer was required to bring to the National Tallying Centre at the Bomas of Kenya their pile of Forms 34A from the polling stations in the constituencies they oversee plus the Form 34B they filled themselves.
They then went through a process that demonstrated why it will be a long wait for the official results.
There are seven verification desks, each handling a cluster of counties, and it is to the relevant desk that the Returning Officer is directed.
The IEBC employees at the desk then ask for the physical forms and compare their contents against the results sent electronically.
VERIFY
At his first briefing at about 1.30pm, Mr Chebukati said the commission had received results sent electronically from all the 37,045 polling stations where voting took place on Thursday.
After the verification, the returning officer would then present the original Form 34B to Mr Chebukati at the main desk at the raised podium before the chairman or one of the commissioners read out the result.
“The verification process will certainly take some time,” Mr Chebukati said.
Assisted by commissioner Boya Mulu and vice chairperson Consolata Maina, Mr Chebukati began announcing the results of each of the eight candidates from each constituency at about 4.30pm.
KIEMS KITS
The National Returning Officer avoided taking questions from journalists at the National Tallying Center for the better part of the day, leaving lots of loose ends and unanswered questions on the repeat election.
The commission’s assertion that it had received 37,405 Forms 34A appeared to contradict the statement it made on Thursday that 35,564 polling stations had confirmed opening.
This confirmation is received when the presiding officer scans the QR Code using the Kiems kit to open the polling station and starts identifying voters using the application on the device.
The commission had said on its official Twitter page that “5,319 polling stations either didn’t open or did not manage to send the ‘we’ve opened’ signal”.
VOTERS
In its first briefing, the commission had estimated voter turn out at 48 per cent.
Mr Chebukati however later used his personal Twitter account to state that the 48 per cent “was a BEST estimate turnout from the team” and that actual figures from 267 constituencies show 6,553,858 Kenyans turned out to vote.
After the first briefing, Mr Chebukati and commissioners Boya Molu, Margaret Mwachanya and Paul Kurgat moved around the seven tables on the floor of the auditorium at Bomas where the verification is taking place.
TIME
Ambassadors Robert Godec (United States) and Nic Hailey (Britain) looked on, with Jubilee Party representatives Winnie Guchu, Davis Chirchir, MaryKaren Sorobit and others also in the auditorium.
At the auditorium, Mr Chebukati told journalists: “I’m going to explain even more than you are asking,” but then left without doing so.
Mr Chebukati asked the public to be patient and calm.
“We acknowledge the fact that you want to move on with your lives and as such we are working round the clock to conclude on this election process,” he said.
By 6pm Friday, the commission had results from the following constituencies: Mathare, Nambale, Mwala, Mwingi West, Ndaragua, Dagoretti South, Kajiado South, Embakasi North, Kajiado Central, Roysambu, Turbo, Ndia, Bomet East, Kandara, Kathiani, Mogotio, Embakasi West, Kikuyu, Tetu, Machakos Town, Juja, Makadara, Matungulu, Mathioya, Embakasi Central, Mumias West, Mumias East, Kaiti, Oljoorok, Mavoko, Mwea, Lugari, Eldama Ravine, Buuri, Naivasha, Matayos, Vihiga and Thika Town.
