Kenya electoral officials blame presidential candidates’ agents for results delay
“Please don’t interrogate the returning officers and slow down the process. If we do that then we shall not be able to finish this exercise,” the chair Wafula Chebukati said during a press briefing on Friday.
“Agents, play your role: observe, make notes and then let the process move on,” he added, threatening to kick out disruptive individuals.
Three days after the polls closed, 99.94% of results from polling stations have been submitted electronically, but only a small number have been verified and announced by the IEBC.
The wait has heightened anxiety across the country as Kenyans wait eagerly to find out the winner of the presidential race. Provisional results tallied by major TV stations showed frontrunners Raila Odinga and William Ruto neck-and-neck in the race. However, with more than 13 million out of some 14 million votes tallied, the broadcasters have stopped updating the tally as of Thursday night.
Kenyan election law requires designated poll officials known as returning officers to bring physical forms showing results from across the nation to the tallying center in the capital Nairobi.
The presidential contest is largely considered a two-horse race between Deputy President Ruto and veteran opposition leader Odinga, who was backed for the top job by outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta.
