Eyes on Kenya poll chief as uncertainty continues
Nairobi, Oct. 29: Kenya’s election chief was to announce on Sunday whether elections will go forward in flashpoint opposition areas, where a boycott sparked violent protests in a poll set to hand President Uhuru Kenyatta a landslide, but tarnished, win.
With the counting almost done after Thursday’s presidential re-run, the results remained on hold as officials mulled what to do about 25 constituencies where voting was blocked.
There, supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga managed to prevent hundreds of polling
Results remained on hold as officials mulled what to do about 25 constituencies where voting was blocked
stations from opening, prompting violent clashes with police which continued for several days, leaving nine dead and scores injured. At least 49 people have died since the first presidential election of August 8, which was later overturned, prompting Kenya’s worst political crisis in a decade.
Following Mr Odinga’s boycott, Kenyatta is almost guaranteed a crushing win.
But it was looking ever more like a Pyhrric victory with low turnout figures likely to tarnish the credibility of a vote that has deeply polarised the nation and sparked international concern about the future of east Africa’s most stable democracy.
With ballots checked and verified from 235 of the 265 constituencies where voting actually took place, the counting process was drawing to a close, although it remained unclear whether a result could actually be announced without figures from areas where voting was blocked. — AFP