Election observers on Thursday described the recent Presidential and parliamentary polls in Kenya as credible.
This is in sharp contrast to the claim by opposition leader, Raila Odinga that the process was manipulated and fraught with irregularities.
Addressing a news conference in capital Nairobi, former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, backed the efforts of over 400 observers from nine observer missions during the elections.
“These people have been on the ground for months, I thank the commitment of all of them from nine observer missions who have all agreed on the prospects of these elections that they were credible,” Kerry said.
[Read Also: Kenyan opposition leader claims murdered election official’s name used to hack election]
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union, the European Union and the African Electoral Observation Group had earlier said the election was credible.
The IGAD chairman and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn urged Kenyans to respect the election results.
In a statement issued from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Thursday, Desalegn said winners and losers of the election must respect “the will of the people”.
Opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, has however continued to reject the preliminary results that show the incumbent President, Uhuru Kenyatta, taking the lead.
Odinga claimed the voting process had been rigged that in turn led to protests and loss of five lives on Wednesday.
So far 97 percent of the votes have been counted. According to official figures, Kenyatta leads with 54.3 percent votes while Odinga is behind with 44.8 percent votes.
Leave a reply