Monday August 15, 2022
The election commission is under intense pressure to deliver a clean poll and release results by August 16 Tony KARUMBA AFP
Nairobi (AFP) – Kenyans prayed for peace Sunday as they
waited anxiously for the final outcome of the presidential election, with the
two frontrunners almost neck and neck, according to partial official results.
As of Sunday morning, Deputy President William Ruto was
slightly ahead of his rival Raila Odinga, data from the Independent Electoral
and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) showed, before cutting off the live feed
displaying the percentage of votes won by both men.
The IEBC, which has now tallied votes from over 70 percent
of constituencies, did not give an explanation for the decision.
But a running tally at the Daily Nation newspaper, citing
the official data, said Ruto had so far scored 52.54 percent of the vote, while
Odinga had 46.78 percent.
Tuesday's vote passed off largely peacefully but after
previous elections sparked deadly violence and rigging claims, the IEBC is
under intense pressure to deliver a clean poll and release results by Tuesday.
Riot police were deployed overnight inside the commission's
heavily guarded tallying centre in the capital Nairobi after political party
agents disrupted the process, hurling rigging allegations at each other.
IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati has accused party agents of
delaying the tallying process by haranguing election workers with unnecessary
questions.
More than a dozen civil society groups, trade unions as well
as the Kenyan chapters of Amnesty International and Transparency International
issued a statement Sunday urging calm.
"We call on all political candidates, their supporters
and the public to exercise restraint. We must all avoid raising tensions that
could easily trigger violence," the 14 organisations said.
The poll pitted Odinga, a veteran opposition leader now
backed by the ruling party, against Ruto, who was widely expected to succeed
President Uhuru Kenyatta until his boss joined hands with former foe Odinga in
a dramatic shift of political allegiances.
'Let us have peace'
Both candidates have pledged to maintain calm, with the
memory of the 2007-08 and 2017 post-poll violence still fresh for many Kenyans.
"We have voted peacefully, we have gone through this
process peacefully and it's my prayer that we end this process
peacefully," Ruto, 55, said at a church service in Nairobi on Sunday.
Speaking at a separate service in the capital, Odinga, 77,
recited the opening lines of the Peace Prayer of St Francis and said: "I
want to become an instrument to bring peace, to heal, to unite and keep the
hope alive in our country."
Worshippers in Odinga's stronghold of Kisumu also prayed for
a peaceful outcome, with bishop Washington Ogonyo Ngede telling his 300-strong
flock: "Don't let politics divide us. We must remain united."
"Because leaders come and go but the country of Kenya
lives forever," said Ngede, a lifelong friend of the Odinga family.
"Let us have peace," he said to cheers and
ululations.
In Ruto's Rift Valley bastion of Eldoret, the clergy and
congregants alike called for calm and patience.
"We have come here to pray for peace, for our country,
for our politicians to ask them (to) be very cautious and prudent in their
utterances," said bishop Dominic Kimengich.
"We have gone through this as Kenyans, we know that any
imprudent remark... can easily trigger conflict and that's what we don't
want," he told AFP.
Churchgoer Mary Wanjiru, 59, told AFP she didn't "want
to hear any incitement from politicians."
"We want a peaceful Kenya."
Lower turnout
Kenyans voted in six elections, choosing a new president as
well as senators, governors, lawmakers, women representatives and some 1,500
county officials.
Lawyer David Mwaure -- one of the four presidential
candidates, along with former spy George Wajackoyah -- conceded on Sunday,
endorsing Ruto, whose party won a key gubernatorial race when Johnson Sakaja
secured control of Nairobi, Kenya's richest city.
The election is being closely watched by an international
community that views Kenya as a pillar of stability in a volatile region.
Turnout was about 65 percent, much lower than the 78 percent
recorded in 2017, a reflection, some observers say, of the disenchantment with
the political elite, particularly among young people.
The winner of the presidential race needs to secure 50
percent plus one vote and at least a quarter of the votes in 24 of Kenya's 47
counties.
Observers say that with the race so close, an appeal to the
Supreme Court by the losing candidate is almost certain, meaning it could be
many weeks before a new president takes office.