Brief scuffles slow the tallying of results in Kenya’s close election

The electoral commission has seven days from Tuesday’s election to announce results

Kenya’s peaceful presidential election saw a brief disruption when riot police responded to scuffles at the national tallying centre amid tensions over the close results.

An agent for longtime opposition leader and candidate Raila Odinga announced from the lectern the tallying centre was the “scene of a crime” before calm was restored late Saturday. The agent, Saitabao Ole Kanchory, offered no evidence in the latest example of the unverified claims that both top campaigns have made as Kenya waits for official results.

The electoral commission has seven days from Tuesday’s election to announce results. Chair Wafula Chebukati on Saturday again said the process was too slow, and the commission told nonessential people watching at the centre to leave.

Police remained at the centre Sunday morning.

“We must all avoid raising tensions that could easily trigger violence,” local human rights groups and professional associations said in a joint statement Sunday, urging restraint from candidates and their supporters.

The race remains close between Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto as the electoral commission physically verifies over 46,000 results forms electronically transmitted from across the country.

Turnout dipped in this election, to 65 per cent, as some Kenyans expressed weariness with seeing long-familiar political leaders on the ballot and frustration with economic issues including widespread corruption and rising prices.