Rivals label Kenyan poll rerun ‘a sham’
Voting stations shut in western parts
NAIROBI: Kenya’s opposition has rejected the nation’s election rerun as “a sham” and said yesterday that plans to reorganise voting in its western strongholds where polls did not open risked provoking further violence and should be cancelled.
At the time of going to press, President Uhuru Kenyatta had won over 96% of votes counted so far, show a local media tally, but his second-term mandate appeared weak with voter turnout below 35% and a vote undermined by clashes.
Pockets of violence continued yesterday, with police saying they shot dead one man, bringing to five the number of confirmed dead since voting began on Thursday. All were killed in the west, which supports the opposition.
The vote has exposed Kenya’s deep political and ethnic divisions as violence flared and court cases drag on. The division was captured in the Standard, a leading local tabloid, which headlined its front page “One Kenya, two faces”.
The situation is being closely watched as Kenya is a regional trade and logistics hub and a powerful security ally for Western nations.
Musalia Mudavadi, a senior opposition leader, accused authorities of “ethnic profiling” and having “militarised elections” as they beef up security ahead of a plan to hold voting in Homa Bay, Kisumu, Migori and Siaya today.
“In the event that (the election commission) refuses to listen to wisdom and instead goes on with this meaningless forced poll, we advise the people not to walk into this trap of death,” he said.
“We call on the residents of these counties to stay away from these planned polls.”
Kenya’s first election, in August, was annulled by the courts because of procedural irregularities, denying Kenyatta a simple victory over his political rival. Turnout in that election was 80%.
If the expected legal challenges fail to clear a path out of the crisis, including a possible order for another rerun, the result will be a protracted and economically damaging political stalemate between the Kenyatta and Odinga camps.
“Unless the courts annul the election, Kenyatta will move forward without a clear mandate and Odinga will pursue a protest strategy whose chances of success in the circumstances are not very high,” Inter national Crisis Group analyst Murithi Mutiga said.
The election commission said more than one in 10 polling stations failed to open due to “security challenges”. Chairperson Wafula Chebukati tweeted that 6.55 million ballots had been cast – 34.5% of registered voters.
A tally of results announced at the constituency level compiled by the Nation media group showed Kenyatta had won over 96 percent of the vote with 200 of 292 constituencies announced.
Figures released by the election commission showed turnout in Kenyatta’s Rift Valley and Central region strongholds was similar to levels seen in August.
However, the boycott call was heeded by voters on the coast, which is far from his western homeland and saw little violence but has overwhelmingly supported Odinga in previous polls.
Opposition lawyers may cite the failure to open polling stations in parts of the country as a reason to declare the poll unconstitutional and seek a fresh contest. – Reuters