Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa in Zimbabwe has applauded Kenyans for holding peaceful elections.
Kenya held a general election on Tuesday to elect a new president. Chamisa says other African countries can learn from Kenya.
“We must congratulate the people of Kenya and Africa for making sure that there is a conversation around making a great Kenya.
CCC leader Nelson Chamisa congratulates Kenyans on holding peaceful elections:
Odinga is ahead in the presidential race in Kenya
Veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga has taken the lead in Kenya’s presidential race, official election results showed on Saturday, pushing Deputy President William Ruto into second place.
With just over 26% of the vote counted, Odinga had 54% to Ruto’s 45%, according to results presented by Kenya’s electoral commission and displayed on a big screen at the national tallying center in the capital Nairobi at midday.
Presidential, parliamentary and local elections were held on Tuesday in the richest country in East Africa and the brightest democracy.
Ruta and Odinga are in a tight race to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has reached his two-term limit. Kenyatta fell out with Ruto after the last election and backed Odinga.
The official counting of votes was slow, which caused public anxiety.
Electoral Commission chairman Wafula Chebukati blamed party agents who are allowed to scrutinize the result forms before they are added to the final tally.
“Agents in this exercise cannot act as if we are conducting a forensic examination,” he said at a briefing on Friday.
“We are not moving as fast as we should. This exercise must be completed as soon as possible.”
Representatives of Odinga’s and Ruto’s coalitions did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Reuters news agency and other media counted the forms with the voting results for 291 constituencies posted on the election commission’s website. They have not yet been verified, and this count is far ahead of the official one.
As of 2100 GMT, Reuters had counted 241 polls, showing Ruto leading with almost 52.3% of the vote compared to Odinga’s 47%. The other two candidates had less than 1% between them.
Thirty other forms could not be included in the count because they were illegible or missing information such as signatures, constituency names or total results.
Reuters forms are preliminary and results are subject to change. Once the forms are uploaded to the commission’s website, Kenyan electoral law requires them to be physically delivered to the national tallying center where party officials can check them for any discrepancies.
The process was designed as a defense against allegations of fraud that fueled violence after the previous election. More than 1,200 people have been killed since the disputed 2007 election and more than 100 have been killed since the disputed 2017 election.
The winning candidate must receive 50% of the national vote plus one and at least 25% of the vote in 24 of the 47 constituencies.
Reuters was unable to confirm the official tally at 9:00 p.m. at the national counting center because the screens showed different information.
The commission must announce the winner by Tuesday.
Kenya is anxiously awaiting the election results
