Kenyan presidential candidate Raila Odinga,centre in downtown Nairobi,rejected the results of the election.Credit:AP
The dramatic series of events raised fears of violence similar to what followed disputed polls in East Africa’s richest country in 2007 when more than 1200 people were killed and again in 2017 when more than 100 people died.
Overnight,Odinga’s supporters battled police and burnt tyres in the western city of Kisumu and the capital Nairobi’s huge Kibera slum,but calm had returned to the streets by morning.
“Our view is that the figures announced by Chebukati are null and void and must be quashed by a court of law,” said Odinga,a veteran opposition leader and five-time presidential candidate who was backed this time by outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta.
“What we saw yesterday was a travesty,” he told reporters,but appealed to his supporters to remain peaceful. “Let no one take the law into their own hands,” he said.
Electoral commissioners,from left,Justus Nyang’aya,Francis Wanderi,Juliana Cherera and Irene Masit announced they couldn’t support the election results.Credit:AP
Odinga broadcast the dissenting commission members’ news conference at his own venue before taking the stage. He said he was not yet prepared to announce specific legal steps.
Odinga has until next Monday to file a challenge with the supreme court.