Four days have elapsed since over 13 million Kenyans flocked to the polling stations in an election that has seen long-time opposition politician Raila Odinga fighting it out against the deputy president, William Ruto.
On Thursday Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) said 46,138 of 46,229 forms with presidential election results have been received as of noon (09:00 GMT). Its website showed that 99% of the results from polling units had been uploaded.
Media houses in Kenya have been independently tallying the presidential results based on the 34A forms that have been uploaded on the IEBC website.
Surprisingly all the media houses have since slowed down their tallying systems despite having published results from over 40 000 polling stations out of 46 226.
Several media houses slowed down with published results showing Ruto in the lead with around 49% while Odinga is trailing with around 48%.
All media houses have paused, slowed, or entirely done way with independent tallying of presidential votes, despite the role of Kenya’s media gaining widespread acclaim both locally and abroad in this polls. I want to make a few guesses why this happened.
Disturbances also rocked the Bomas tallying centre after party agents clashed during the verification exercise on Friday morning.
The long wait is draining the voters amid concerns that efforts are being implemented aimed at rigging the elections.
Reports of arrests of returning officers who vanished with ballot papers have also been awash on social media.
Analysts have, however, applauded Kenya for holding a peaceful election and urged the nation to hold its breathe and allow IEBC to carry out its mandate and deliver the election results without undue pressure.
Elections in Kenya have led to bloodshed in the past and people in Eldoret in western Kenya are afraid this year’s elections might lead to a re-run of 2007, when dozens of people were killed. Once more, the presidential race promises to be neck to neck.
Latest figures show that the two contenders are neck to neck and critics say there are high chances of a run-off.
All media houses have paused, slowed, or entirely done way with independent tallying of presidential votes, despite the role of Kenya’s media gaining widespread acclaim both locally and abroad in this polls. I want to make a few guesses why this happened.
