What is going on right now is a sham: Kenyan opposition leader rejects election results

On Wednesday Morning (9 August) Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga rejected the results that have been displayed by the election commission from Tuesdays vote, raising fears that his supporters could mount street protests. He said the election board was required by law to display forms signed by party observers from each polling center certifying the results and had not done so. Instead, the election board was displaying a running tally on its website that showed Kenyatta leading with 55% of the vote after nearly three-quarters of polling stations had reported results.Odinga said Kenyattas lead had been suspiciously constant since tallying began and did not correlate with what his own party agents were telling him. Under Kenyan law, results from each polling station should be recorded on a form that is signed by observers from each party in the polling station, then posted by the election board on a public website. The measure is supposed to help ensure the elections are not rigged and parties can cross-check results. Odinga, who lost the last two elections, blamed rigging after the vote was marred by irregularities. In 2007, his call for protests sparked ethnic violence that killed 1,200 people. In 2013, he quelled clashes by taking his concerns to court.

By Staff Reporter
August 9, 2017 18:32 +08

IBTimes UK

On Wednesday Morning (9 August) Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga rejected the results that have been displayed by the election commission from Tuesdays vote, raising fears that his supporters could mount street protests. He said the election board was required by law to display forms signed by party observers from each polling center certifying the results and had not done so. Instead, the election board was displaying a running tally on its website that showed Kenyatta leading with 55% of the vote after nearly three-quarters of polling stations had reported results.Odinga said Kenyattas lead had been suspiciously constant since tallying began and did not correlate with what his own party agents were telling him. Under Kenyan law, results from each polling station should be recorded on a form that is signed by observers from each party in the polling station, then posted by the election board on a public website. The measure is supposed to help ensure the elections are not rigged and parties can cross-check results. Odinga, who lost the last two elections, blamed rigging after the vote was marred by irregularities. In 2007, his call for protests sparked ethnic violence that killed 1,200 people. In 2013, he quelled clashes by taking his concerns to court.