Kenyan election official quits, saying re-run election will not be 'credible' 

Roselyn Akombe
Roselyn Akombe Credit: REUTERS

Kenya’s top election official threw next week’s rerun of the country’s presidential election into doubt on Wednesday, saying that political intimidation and interference meant he could no longer guarantee the credibility of the vote.

Hours after one of his colleagues resigned and fled the country saying she feared for her life, Wafula Chebukati, chairman of the electoral commission, also threatened to quit, deepening a political crisis that risks upending one of Africa’s most stable states.

Next Thursday’s election marks Kenya’s second attempt in three months to choose a leader after the supreme court overturned President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election in August, citing “irregularities and illegalities” in the transmission of results.

But the ruling, unprecedented in Africa, has worsened rather than resolved Kenya’s political impasse. Mr Kenyatta’s challenger, Raila Odinga, withdrew from the rerun earlier this month after electoral officials he accused of rigging the first vote refused to resign.

Mr Chebukati accused both the government and the opposition of resorting to tactics that, he said, threatened to pitch Kenya into a “worse situation” than the violent aftermath of an election in 2007 that claimed more than 1,300 lives.

Kenya's opposition party leader, Raila Odinga, speaks to an audience at Chatham House in London on October 13, 2017
Kenya's opposition party leader, Raila Odinga, speaking at Chatham House in London on October 13 Credit:  REUTERS

But Mr Odinga was swift to claim vindication after the chairman said his efforts to ensure a transparent election had been blocked by four commissioners who have been accused of acting at the behest of the president’s ruling party.

“I’ve made several attempts to make critical changes but all my motions have been defeated by a majority of the commissioners,” Mr Chebukati said. “Under such conditions it is difficult to guarantee a free, fair and credible election.”

“I would rather go out with my name intact and my head lifted high than be part of a process where personal interests dwarf the interests of the nation.”

Mr Chebukati indicated he would carry out his threat to quit unless electoral staff accused of bungling August’s election stepped down, his fellow commissioners stopped serving “partisan interests” and President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga agreed to negotiate.

A police officer prepares to fire a tear gas to disperse supporters of Raila Odinga in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, 16 October 2017
A police officer prepares to fire a tear gas to disperse supporters of Raila Odinga in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, 16 October 2017 Credit:  EPA

He also demanded an end to opposition protesters chasing away electoral staff trying to prepare polling stations.

Were Mr Chebukati to resign, the election — which is constitutionally required to be held by Nov 1st — risks being postponed as the chairman of the commission alone has the power to declare the result. 

Mr Chebukati’s decision to air his grievances publicly came after Roselyn Akombe, one of his six fellow commissioners, resigned and fled to New York, raised similar concerns and said she feared for her safety after receiving threats. A senior electoral manager with responsibility for the electronic integrity of the vote, was murdered nine days before the August election.

“The commission in its current state can surely not guarantee a credible election on 26 October 2017,” she said in a statement. “I do not want to be party to such a mockery to electoral integrity.”

Kenyan opposition lawmaker Caleb Amisi Luyai leans through the window of his car as tear gas billows out after police fired gas at a convoy of opposition politicians in the capital Nairobi on October 13
Kenyan opposition lawmaker Caleb Amisi Luyai leans through of his car as tear gas billows out Credit: REUTERS

In recent days, both President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga appeared to have made some concessions that raised hopes for a negotiated settlement to the crisis.

But Mr Odinga has shown little sign of returning to the race. On Wednesday he called for mass protests on election day as part of a strategy to prevent voting taking place in his strongholds — a move that could lead to the poll being nullified again.

As many as 70 people have died in election-related violence since August, the vast majority opposition protesters killed by the security forces.

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