AFRICA/KENYA - Outgoing President Kenyatta leads after elections yesterday but the Opposition denounces vote-rigging

Wednesday, 9 August 2017 elections  

Nairobi (Agenzia Fides)- Outgoing president Uhuru Kenyatta leads in the partial count after yesterday’s 8 August vote for presidential and political elections in Kenya (see Fides 8/8/2017). The result however is rejected by Raila Odinga, leader of the opposition party National Super Alliance NASA, who says “hackers accessed the election system database” falsifying the results.
“You can’t deceive the people for very long” warned Odinga at a press conference. “These general elections 2017 are a fraud” he added.
The opposition says hackers entered the electoral system using the identity of the Independent Electoral Commission IT manager, Chris Msando, killed last month. His body, which showed signs of torture, was found on 30 July, only days before the election (see Fides 2/8/2017).
According to results made public by the IEBC, concerning counts in 90% of the country’s polling stations, Kenyatta leads with 54,41% followed by Odinga with 44.72%.
The contested elections in 2007 trigged a wave of violence in Kenya which left thousands dead and about one million internally displaced.
According to the media, clashes between the police and Opposition demonstrators broke out this morning in Kisumu, in the east of the country, one of the places most affected by violence ten years ago. The police used tear gas against the demonstrators who built barricades and torched tires. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 9/8/2017)


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