The National Peace and Mediation Team has urged Kenyans to follow the results of vote tallying peacefully until all persons elected to various positions are announced by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The Chairman of the National Peace and Mediation Team and Head of the Anglican Church in Kenya Rev. Jackson Ole Sapit said the team also calls upon political leaders and citizens to give IEBC officials time to conduct the constitutional and statutory duty and obligations in this democratic journey.
“We advise against any unreasonable pressure being piled on the Commission,” stated Rev. Ole Sapit.
“Whatever the outcome of the Presidential Election and all other elective positions we call for calm and restraint from all sides and whichever party that will feel aggrieved should call for calm among their supporters,” he added.
He at the same time noted that parties that will feel aggrieved by the election results should pursue the acceptable constitutional means to seek redress.
The Chairman who was flanked by members of the team was speaking Wednesday at the National Tallying Centre at the Bomas of Kenya, Nairobi.
Rev. Ole Sapit assured of the team’s commitment to work closely with all relevant stakeholders among them political parties, as well as ensure that peace, harmony, security and unity continue to prevail among all Kenyans.
He noted that as the country awaits IEBC to finalize the tallying and official announcement of the results by returning officers, the team will endeavor to keep the nation informed by sharing critical information collected by the team’s monitors and observers deployed across the country.
The Chairman noted that the team had observed a few challenges during the voting exercise on August 9th, citing delays in opening polling stations which resulted in some voters not casting their votes, delays in communication by IEBC on the postponement of elections in certain areas, failure of Kiems Kits in many key areas which delayed the voting process, and kits failure to pick finger prints of women voters, the elderly and manual workers.
The total voter turnout during the August 9 general election was 12, 065,803 million out of the registered voters 22, 120,158 million which translates to 56.17 percent, according to Rev. Ole Sapit, the lowest ever in the country.
By Berndette Khaduli
