THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
The head of the European Union’s election observer mission in Kenya said on Thursday it had seen no signs of “centralised or localised manipulation” of the voting process.
Marietje Schaake said that the EU mission’s final report would evaluate the conduct of the tallying process, which opposition leader Raila Odinga said had been compromised by hackers.
The EU said candidates should accept losing as “natural”.
In the same vein, John Kerry, former American Secretary of State who is heading the Carter Center’s observer team, has also urged all sides to wait for the final results, and for the loser to accept defeat.
He said there were some “minor variances” but none that had so far made him doubt the poll’s integrity, he added at a press conference in Nairobi on Thursday.
Moreover, Commonwealth observer mission head and Ghana’s ex-President John Mahama said there was no reason to doubt the commission’s ability to deliver a “credible election”.
The opposition published its own figures on Thursday, putting Mr Odinga ahead of incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta. This contrasts with provisional electronic results giving Mr Kenyatta a clear lead in Tuesday’s poll.
Meanwhile, the country’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has warned the opposition that its claims of victory for its presidential candidate, Odinga, could be deemed illegal.
Commission chairman Wafula Chebukati said it was the only body legally allowed to count votes. He accused the opposition coalition of basic mathematical errors.
Odinga has alleged that the IT system of the electoral commission had been hacked and Kenya was witnessing the worst “voter theft” in its history.
But the commission said that while there had been an attempt to hack its system, it had failed.
According to provisional results published on the IEBC’s website says that with almost all of results in, Kenyatta – who is seeking a second term – is leading with about 54.3%, to Odinga’s 44.8% share of the vote.
These suggest Kenyatta is heading for a first-round victory.
The final result is expected to be announced later today (Friday).
Adira Kallo with agency reports
