(Nairobi) Calls for peace and unity resounded on Sunday across Kenya, immersed in the interminable wait for the results of the August 9 presidential election which appears particularly tight, according to partial official results.
Posted at 4:07 p.m.
Sunday morning, according to the count of the Electoral Commission (IEBC) on nearly half of the polling stations, Vice-President William Ruto led this elbow-to-elbow with 51.25% of the vote, against 48.09% for Raila Odinga, a historic figure in the opposition now supported by outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The commission then cut the live broadcast of the results, without giving an explanation.
But a daily count DailyNationciting official data on 70% of the polling stations, indicated in the evening that Mr. Ruto had obtained 52.54% of the vote so far while Mr. Odinga had obtained 46.78%.
Since their vote on Tuesday, Kenyans have been holding their breath in the face of what could be one of the tightest presidential duels in the country’s history. Their patience is unanimously welcomed in a country which has experienced several episodes of post-election tension and violence, sometimes bloody, in recent decades.
Sunday, Messrs. Ruto and Odinga visited churches in the capital Nairobi.
White shirt and light jacket, William Ruto called for a peaceful continuation of the electoral process during a religious service: “We voted peacefully, we went through this process peacefully and my prayer is that we end this process peacefully” .
Raila Odinga, dressed in a blue tunic, his country color, recited a prayer from Saint Francis: “I want to become an instrument to bring peace, heal, unite and keep hope alive in our country. “.
Elsewhere, Sunday services, which are very popular in this religious country, have been the occasion for appeals to responsibility.
On the announcement of the results, “do not create problems or chaos, but pray for the new president that God has given us”, launched Bishop Washington Ogonyo Ngede in front of 300 faithful gathered in Kisumu, stronghold of Odinga in The west of the country.
“Leaders come and go, but Kenya lives forever,” added this longtime friend of the Odinga family.
“Will of the People”
In Eldoret, Ruto’s stronghold in the Rift Valley, Catholic Diocese Bishop Dominic Kimengich also called for calm, urging politicians to be “very careful in their words”.
“We have experienced this as Kenyans, we know that any reckless remark […] can easily spark a conflict,” he told AFP before a mass in Yamumbi parish. He asked politicians to “accept the will of the people” expressed at the ballot box.
Echoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Twitter on Saturday, around fifteen NGOs and unions, including Amnesty International, called on Sunday for “patience”.
“We applaud Kenyans for their peaceful conduct during the elections and call for calm while the results are verified,” they said in a statement.
Record of women elected
Some 22.1 million voters were called to the polls on Tuesday to nominate President Uhuru Kenyatta’s successor, as well as their governors, parliamentarians and local elected officials.
The results of the local polls are falling in dribs and drabs. They do not suggest which camp will delight the parliamentary majority, but they already draw a historic breakthrough for women.
For the presidential election, the suspense is maximum. If neither of these two candidates wins more than 50% of the vote, as well as 25% of the vote in half of the 47 counties, Kenya will have a second round for the first time.
The IEBC is therefore under pressure. Not only because the country, economic engine of East Africa; is idling pending the results, but also because it was strongly criticized five years ago after a presidential election invalidated by the Supreme Court.
On Friday, the commission acknowledged that the collection, counting and verification of results took longer than expected, slowed down, it said, by interference from political party supporters.
This election is closely scrutinized by the international community. Kenya is indeed a democratic anchor in the region and the results of all presidential elections have been contested there since 2002.
Last Tuesday’s poll saw voter turnout around 65% (compared to 78% in August 2017), amid rampant inflation and frustration with the political elite.