Kenya polls met international standards, EU observers say

EU election observation mission chief observer Alojz Peterle during the release of the 2013 General Election report on Wednesday in Nairobi. Photo/Jennifer Muiruri 

By Neville Otuki
 

 

In Summary

• The mission led by Alojz Peterle said that discrepancies during tallying affected less than one per cent of the votes cast.
• The observers described the Supreme Court ruling on the Raila Odinga petition as commendable, attributing it to judicial reforms.
• They recommended review of policies to encourage more women to run for elective posts

The European Union has given a clean bill of health to the March 4 General Election, saying the anomalies witnessed were too negligible to influence the outcome.

The mission led by Alojz Peterle said in a report released on Wednesday that discrepancies during tallying affected less than one per cent of the votes cast.

“Our analysis did not find any evidence to discredit the exercise,” said Mr Pertele, adding that the polls won by President Uhuru Kenyatta met international standards.

He said there were concerns over transparency after some party agents and election observers were denied access to the Bomas of Kenya tallying centre.

He said about three million Kenyans who were eligible to vote did not register because of lack of identity cards and inadequate window of 30 days for enlisting given by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

The observers described the Supreme Court ruling on the Raila Odinga petition as commendable, attributing it to judicial reforms.

However, the report recommended review of policies to encourage more women to run for elective posts. It also said the election cycle should be managed better to avoid the last minute hitches that affected the procurement of voter registration kits, eventually leading to collapse of the voter identification system.

The observers said civil society groups and the media conducted themselves well during the electioneering period. The EU gave Kenya Sh2.1 billion for the elections.

However, the National Civil Society Congress said the EU mission report lacked credibility. “The report has not explicitly covered the areas alleged to be marred by irregularities,” the secretary Ndolo Asasa said.

The lobby group cited systems failure in the electronic transmission of results and delayed release of results as key areas the observers should have focused on.