The electoral agency Friday evening announced the postponement for a second time of the repeat presidential election in four Nyanza counties that failed to vote on Thursday, to a date yet to be announced.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will, however, on Saturday conduct the election in five polling stations in Fafi constituency and five in Turkana Central that had also failed to conduct the poll due to insecurity and heavy rainfall, respectively.
In all of the 40,883 polling stations nationwide, 3,635 of them failed to vote in the election that was boycotted by the Raila Odinga-led National Super Alliance (Nasa).
IEBC OFFICIALS
The 3,635 polling stations represent a total of 1,770,475 voters, representing nine per cent of the total number of voters IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati told journalists at the Bomas of Kenya, the National Tallying Centre.
Yesterday, some of our staff were hijacked, tortured in some areas, some of their homes broken into and looted.
“Others were forbidden and violently prevented from reporting to their polling stations and were literally chased away. Some had to take refuge in polling stations up to now,” Mr Chebukati said.
He stressed that when it comes to its staff being in danger of losing their lives, the commission is concerned, and thus the postponement.
FINAL VOTE
The bulk of the constituencies where the repeat election was postponed are in Kisumu, Homa Bay, Siaya, and Migori.
There was voting only in Kuria East and Kuria West in Migori.
Mr Chebukati had on Thursday announced that the commission will make a decision on whether or not to announce the final vote without the remaining polling stations.
This is provided for in the Elections Act in places where the IEBC cannot guarantee the safety of its staff, or the election itself.
On Thursday, some Nasa supporters prevented the election from happening in the four counties, strongholds of Mr Odinga’s Nasa.
Daily Nation
