Late Saturday, as tumultuous circumstances developed at Kenya’s national tallying center at the Bomas of Kenya (a tourist town), anti-riot police intervened, putting an end to the ongoing verification of presidential votes.
Allies of Raila Odinga, a veteran leader of the opposition, noted suspected anomalies in the electoral process.
Saitabao Ole Kanchory, the head agent for Odinga, approached the podium and yelled into the microphone. On live television, the speaker said, “I want to tell Kenyans that Bomas is a scene of crime,” before the microphone was cut off.
The fiercely contested presidential election in Kenya has been plagued by claims of fraud.
In 29.92 percent of polling places as of early afternoon, Odinga had 52.54 percent of the vote (2,288,315), compared to Ruto’s 46.76 percent (2,036,795), according to official results from Nairobi, where the Independent Electoral Commission (IEBC) is gathering, tallying, and validating data.
By law, final findings must be made public by August 16th. Kenya will hold its first-ever presidential run-off if neither of the two front-runners earns more than 50 percent of the vote.
Even though Kenya is regarded as a haven of progress and stability in the midst of a volatile area, every presidential election since 2002 has been hotly disputed, occasionally with violence.
The name of Uhuru Kenyatta’s successor hasn’t been announced nearly a week after 22.1 million Kenyans were urged to cast ballots. Kenyatta has served two terms since 2013 and is ineligible to seek for a third.
