By Mike Sebalu
The Commonwealth Observer Group has called upon all political party leaders and their supporters to continue to show restraint and benevolence as the results management phase of the electoral process reaches its finalization.
This comes as Kenyans eagerly await the official declaration of the winner of the presidential election more than 48 hours after polls closed.
The call was made as the team presented its interim findings on Kenya’s 2021 general elections in which it described the process as peaceful and transparent.
Led by Bruce Golding, former Prime Minister of Jamaica, the commonwealth observer commended the efforts by political parties, their leaders, presidential candidates, and the people of Kenya, to foster a peaceful environment in the lead-up to the elections.
They also commended IEBC and polling staff for their respective roles in ensuring that the close of polls and counting of votes followed due process, with a high degree of transparency.
However, the Group noted that some electoral processes such as the use of the Kenya Integrated Elections Management System (KIEMS) kit, which is used to register and identify voters using biometrics, the application of procedures by polling staff, and the time lag between the announcement of the official results by the IEBC and the provisional ones by the media, can be further strengthened.
