Kenyan elections chief meets President Kenyatta on re-run poll impasse

23 Octobre 2017

Nairobi, Kenya, October  23 (Infosplusgabon) - Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission  (IEBC) chairman, Wafula Chebukati, tried a last ditch attempt to secure a credible election during a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi on Monday ahead of this week's poll.

According to the Presidential Strategic Communications Unit (PSCU), President Kenyatta did not make any specific demands before the repeat poll during a meeting with the IEBC.

The meeting followed a similar one held with the leader of the opposition, Raila Odinga in Nairobi, during which Odinga announced he could reconsider his withdrawal from the poll.

In a brief statement, the PSCU said President Kenyatta met Chebukati to discuss the October 26 election.

"President Kenyatta said he is ready for the election and has no demands on IEBC, other than the electoral body meeting its obligation of conducting fresh presidential election on 26 October as ordered by the Supreme Court," the PSCU said.

The meeting was held at Harambee House, the President’s office in central Nairobi, and was also attended by Deputy President William Ruto.

“We made it clear that we have no demands or conditions on this subject. We have made funds available for the IEBC to do its job. Now they really should deliver,” the President said.

The meeting between the President and the IEBC took place as foreign diplomats called for a political solution to the election impasse and a possible Court sanctioned delay of the polls.

“We only insist that election be held on October 26, that’s the timeline set by the IEBC in terms of conditions set in the annulment of the Aug 8 election,” the President added.

The Supreme Court annulled the August 8 presidential poll on 1 September, citing irregularities and illegalities.

However, the main opposition coalition, NASA, has been seeking changes to the transmission of the results ahead of the repeat presidential election.

Odinga withdrew from the race citing lack of progress in implementing some reforms to make the transmission of the results transparent.

Among the reforms sought was the printing of fresh ballot papers from an independent printer and a complete set of suppliers for the main electronic devices used to relay the poll results.

According to NASA, results from poll centres during the last election did not reach the IEBC servers.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/OLM/GABON 2017

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