The brawls underscored the outburst and high tensions in the national counting room as the country awaits official results from last Tuesday’s election. There have been heated online digs at the melee from citizens pointing out that the rest of the nation is patiently waiting. In the presidential race, officially verified results reported by the Nation media group showed Ruto with 51% of the vote, ahead of opposition leader Raila Odinga who had 48%. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Confusion over the vote count in the media and slow progress by the electoral commission have fueled concern in Kenya, which is East Africa’s richest and most stable nation but has a history of violence after disputed elections. Reuters was unable to access the official tally of votes for the presidential race on Sunday. A live feed showing the results at the national counting center had disappeared hours earlier. When asked about the tally, a committee spokeswoman referred Reuters to the live stream. Other election officials said they were unable to provide the information. Officially verified results on Saturday, with just over a quarter of the votes counted, put Odinga on top with 54% of the vote to Ruto’s 45%. The winner must get 50% of the votes plus one. The committee has seven days from the voting to announce the winners. A Reuters tally of 255 out of 291 preliminary results at constituency level at 12:00 GMT on Sunday showed Ruto leading with 52% and Odinga with just over 47%. Two minor candidates shared less than one percent between them. Reuters did not include 19 forms in the count because they lacked signatures, totals, were illegible or had other problems. The preliminary tally is based on forms that are subject to revision if discrepancies are discovered during the formal verification process. The many checks and balances are designed to try to prevent the kind of allegations of fraud that fueled violence in 2007, when more than 1,200 people were killed, and in 2017, when more than 100 people were killed.
CHAOS IN THE ACCOUNTING
Odinga and Ruto are vying to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has served his two-term limit. Kenyatta fell out with Ruto after the last election and has endorsed Odinga for president. Kenyatta leaves power having saddled Kenya with debt for expensive infrastructure projects and without addressing the endemic corruption that has blighted all levels of government. The next president will also take on the rapidly rising costs of food and fuel. Ruto’s strong showing reflects widespread dissatisfaction with Kenyatta’s legacy – even in parts of the country where the president previously swept elections. A large number of Kenyans also did not vote, saying that none of the candidates inspired them. On Sunday, Ruto’s party member Johnson Sakaya won the governorship of the capital Nairobi, the richest and most populous of the 47 counties.
TENSION IN THE ACCOUNTING CENTER
As the tight contest continued, party operatives grew increasingly agitated at the counting center known as Bomas. Late on Saturday, Raila Odinga’s chief operative, Saitabao ole Kanchory, grabbed a microphone and announced that Kenya’s Bomas was a crime scene, before his officials muted him. Party operatives clashed with each other, police and election officials, at one point trying to drag an official out. The scenes, which were broadcast on national news, were met with uproar by Kenyans, who urged their leaders to grow up. “Reckless behavior in Bomas by so-called leaders, which can quickly set the country on fire, needs to be pointed out,” Alamin Kimathi, a human rights activist, tweeted. “Let the drama end. Let the process continue.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Additional reporting by Humphrey Malalo. Katharine Houreld writes. Edited by Frances Kerry and Hugh Lawson Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
