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The commission has only received results from 10,036 polling stations and is yet to get those from 23,000 other polling stations/FILE

Kenya

It’s too early to celebrate – IEBC

The commission has only received results from 10,036 polling stations and is yet to get those from 23,000 other polling stations/FILE

The commission has only received results from 10,036 polling stations and is yet to get those from 23,000 other polling stations/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 5 – The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is now asking Kenyans not to celebrate or complain about the elections results released so far because they are provisional and have not been declared by the commission.

IEBC chairman Issack Hassan told journalists on Tuesday afternoon that Kenyans should wait for the commission to declare the winner after all the results from the polling stations are received and confirmed, noting that the elections cannot be declared on the basis of provisional results.

He also revealed that the commission has a maximum of seven days within which it’s required by law to declare the results of the elections.

The commission has only received results from 10,036 polling stations and is yet to get those from 23,000 other polling stations.

“Today is the first day after the elections and we have six more days. We hope that within 48 hours, we shall be able to project the provisional results as they were announced across the country. But for us to eventually declare the winner of any election, we must have the returns from our Returning Officers and that was not going to happen within 48 hours,” he explained.

Hassan added that the commission wanted to give Kenyans credible results, noting how complex the concluded elections were.

He argued that it would be ill advised to quickly release the results without taking time to verify their authenticity.

“We are fully aware of the 2007 General Election and the fact that while the voting was peaceful, it was the result’s management that brought tension to the country,” he noted.

Hassan, who had earlier met political party agents, further assured Kenyans of a fair poll noting that any results declared from a polling station, but which exceeded the number of registered voters would be automatically rejected.

He added that IEBC officials, who were found guilty of bungling the election’s outcome or those who signed questionable results, would be held liable because they took an oath to facilitate fair and transparent polls.

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“The final results that are going to be announced here (at the Bomas of Kenya) will be the correct result and are going to reflect the will of the people. We have no intention of changing the will of the people at any polling station or tallying centre,” he maintained.

He also reminded political parties and their agents of the code of conduct they signed asking them to honour it, and further urged media houses to refrain from declaring certain individuals winners in particular positions.

“The code of conduct requires them to first accept the authority of the commission in the conduct of the elections. Second, conduct peaceful elections; third, accept the results and fourth, use the legal means available, if they are unhappy with the results,” argued Hassan.

The IEBC also said that it had secured the results from Kanyenyaini ward in Kangema following the death of the Presiding Officer.

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