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LIVE: Kenya election board to announce poll results at 3.30pm
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s election commission said the result of a highly contentious presidential election will be announced on Monday afternoon, despite voting not taking place in 25 protest-hit constituencies.
“Having been satisfied that the results of the elections shall not be affected by voting in areas where the election was postponed, we therefore invite the presidential candidates for the announcement of the result at 3:30 pm (1230 GMT) today,” said Consolata Nkatha, the election board’s vice chairman.
The announcement will confirm a landslide win by President Uhuru Kenyatta after his chief rival Raila Odinga pulled out and called on followers to boycott the ballot, a move which was widely observed.
But low turnout is likely to tarnish the credibility of a vote that has deeply polarised the east African nation.
The announcement also confirmed the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) was dropping plans to re-run voting in four counties where opposition protesters managed to prevent hundreds of polling stations from opening, prompting violent clashes with police.
Nine people died in two days of angry protests, raising to at least 49 the number killed since the first election on August 8, which was later overturned, prompting Kenya’s worst political crisis in a decade.
With the counting almost done after Thursday’s presidential re-run, the results had remained on hold as officials mulled what to do about the 25 constituencies in four western counties where voting was blocked.
Supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga, who called for an election boycott, managed to prevent hundreds of polling stations from opening, prompting violent clashes with police which continued for several days, leaving nine dead and scores injured.
