News
Date:09 Aug 2017
#KenyaElection: Incumbent President Leads in Controversial Results
Provisional results from 38,249 out of 40,883 polling stations reported by the Kenya Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) put Uhuru Kenyatta of the Jubilee Party ahead of the race, with 54.4% of votes cast (7 757 201 votes), and Raila Odinga of NASA in second place with 44.74% of votes cast (6 380 316 votes). With 91% of the results in, it appears that Kenyatta is heading for a first-round victory.
However, a day after voting, opposition candidate, Odinga has made a statement to the press rejecting the results released by the IEBC as “fake.” He the results released by the commission do not tally with the original result forms 34A and 34B from polling stations. Odinga claims that the IEBC server was hacked using the late IEBC IT manager, Chris Msando’s identity, and that the results have been manipulated.
According to the Daily Nation newspaper, IEBC chief electoral officer Ezra Chiloba said that the commission has only published results that have been verified by the forms. The commission has acknowledged however that due to issues with network coverage, the transmission of some forms 34A and 34B have been delayed.
In a press conference, IEBC chairman said “as of now he cannot tell whether or not the IEBC system was hacked” But stated the Commission has confidence in its transmission system but will probe NASA claims that it could have been hacked.
This is Odinga’s third time running for president, and he has been unsuccessful each time. The rivalry between Odinga and Kenyatta stems not only from the 2013 election when Kenyatta won, but also from the political rivalry between their fathers in the 1960s.
Many citizens fear a repeat of the post-election violence that took place in 2007, killing more than 1,100 Kenyans, and displacing 600,000.
AEP
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