Kenyans converged around radios and televisions yesterday, increasingly anxious for news of who their next president might be, two days after voting in an election ended.
The East African country’s election commission -IEBC, has yet to release a running tally of results or announce the winner, but unofficial and unverified media counts reveal a close race.
The opposition leader and former political prisoner Raila Odinga, aged 77, is vying for the presidency for the fifth time. The presidency seat is mostly between Odinga and the outgoing Deputy President William Ruto, aged 55.
The Kenyan media outlets are tallying results from pictures of forms that the commission uploaded to its website from over 46,000 polling stations, a very uphill task that means the total figures will differ, and stay behind the amount of raw information available.
There are however concerns that the media discrepancies could trigger claims of rigging, which have led to deadly violence after the ballot. Several citizens have called for peace, at least until the election results are announced.
But all have expressed faith in the commission’s ability to deliver the correct result.
At least 1,200 people were confirmed dead in the aftermath of the widespread violence that followed the 2007 polls. Additionally, over 100 individuals died after the 2017 elections.
