Honour Msando with fair polls, says top monitor John Kerry

Former US Secretary of State John Kerry, co-leader of the Carter Centre’s election monitoring team in Kenya, on Tuesday paid tribute to slain IEBC official Chris Msando.

“We all wish to honour Mr Msando’s dedication to transparent elections,” Mr Kerry said.

“Security for the elections and all election administrators throughout the electoral process is paramount for the conduct of credible and democratic elections,” Mr Kerry said.

“We hope that his death will not have a chilling effect on voters and electoral authorities.”

The Carter Centre said in a statement that attacks on the IEBC and other independent institutions, whether verbal or physical, remain an unacceptable form of public discourse.

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“The centre further implores politicians to refrain from politicising this event,” the statement added.

The monitoring group founded by former US President Jimmy Carter also called for “an independent and comprehensive investigation” into the death of the IEBC’s manager.

“The success of Kiems remains an essential step toward increasing stakeholder confidence in the election,” the Carter Centre said.

Mr Kerry and monitoring group co-leader Aminata Touré, a former prime minister of Senegal, are due to arrive in Kenya this week to oversee a delegation of 80 vote monitors.