Kiikuuyoland elections

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Today, Agoosto 9th, is Kiikuuyo general elections. If anyone knows, election time in Kenya is a time of turmoil and anxiety. Many folks move to their native, tribal lands in case after the results become explosive and violent as it happened in 2007 and other times.

I witnessed two of these anxious elections - in 1992 and 2013. In 1992, which happened two months after our arrival in Nairobi from Xamar, was very distressful that my mother moved all of us to Gaarisa. We spent a month in there, just in case...

In 2013, many folks moved to NFD and to Soomaaliya worried what to come, but I stayed behind with my wife, come what. Lucky nothing happened, though the result took almost a week being announced. I liveblogged it on here. The 2017 was so much rigging accusations that it took Kiikuuyoland Supreme Court to interfere and annul. The court ordered a new election, in which Odinga boycotted and declared himself a 'people's president.'

Today's main candidates are thrice-loser, Rail Odinga, and the current vice president, William Ruto. Uhuru Kenyatta, the outgoing president, broke his promise to support his deputy, instead is campaigning for and with Raila Odinga, his erstwhile former political adversary. Polls say it is Raila's to lose this time, the fourth attempt of his as well as his father losing prior elections.

If Raila is elected, he will the first non-Kiikuuyo president. Raila is from Luo (Joluo) tribe. Ruto is Kalenjin, the tribe of long-time president, Daniel Moi, and a usual Kiikuuyo alliance tribe.

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

 

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[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Kenya elections 2022: Raila Odinga and William Ruto in tight race for president

Voters started queuing before dawn across Kenya on Tuesday, eager to have their say over who will run the country for the next five years.

Delays and logistical problems have been reported in some places, but in general the process appears smooth.

The vote follows an intense campaign dominated by debates about living costs, unemployment and corruption.

The frontrunners for president are ex-Prime Minister Raila Odinga and current Deputy President William Ruto.

The outgoing president Uhuru Kenyatta is backing his former foe Mr Odinga, after a falling out with his own deputy.

Mr Odinga was mobbed by supporters when he went to vote in Kibra - one of his strongholds in the capital, Nairobi.

He did not speak to the press, but his wife, Ida Odinga, said he was "upbeat about the election".

When Mr Ruto voted in the town of Eldoret in the Rift Valley he pledged to accept the election result.

"I think for the first time in the history of multi-party democracy in Kenya, all the candidates have undertaken that they will accept the outcome of the results," he told the BBC.

A dispute over election results in 2007 led to weeks of violence leading to the deaths of an estimated 1,200 people and forced about 600,000 people to flee from their homes

On Tuesday, there was some frustration among the early morning voters at a polling station in a primary school in the Westlands area of Nairobi.

They were blocked from entering the compound of the school for 90 minutes after voting was supposed to start at 06:00 local time (03:00 GMT).

The reason for the delay was not clear and some people started chanting: "We want to vote!"

"I was here very early. It's been disappointing that we got here early and had to wait for a long time," voter Alex Kipchoge told the BBC.

When voting did get under way, however, the process went well.

There have also been reports of delays in the coastal area of Mombasa and some parts of the north-east of the country.

There are several other elections for parliament and local government happening at the same time and a mix-up of ballot papers in some areas for some of those votes has again raised questions about the organisation of the general election.

Polls are open for 11 hours and are expected to close at 17:00 local time (14:00 GMT). Anyone still in the queue at closing time will be allowed to vote.

The results of the last presidential election in 2017 were annulled after the Supreme Court ruled that the electoral commission had not followed the law when it came to the electronic transmission of the vote tallies from the polling stations.

Judges ruled that "illegalities and irregularities" had taken place.

A re-run was won by Mr Kenyatta, but boycotted by Mr Odinga - the main opposition candidate at the time.

The chairman of the electoral commission, Wafula Chebukati, who was also in charge of the 2017 vote, has frequently tried to reassure Kenyans that his team will be up to the task this time.

But Monday's logistical problems have increased the pressure on him.

Baba v Hustler

This election looks like it will be a tight race between frontrunners Mr Odinga, 77, and Mr Ruto, 55.

Mr Odinga - a long-serving opposition leader, nicknamed Baba ("father") by his supporters, is running for president for a fifth time. Mr Ruto, who has tried to emphasise his connection with ordinary Kenyans by calling himself a "hustler", is taking his first stab at the presidency.

Two other candidates - David Mwaure and George Wajackoya - are also in the race.

Despite the campaign being dominated by issues, ethnic loyalty may also play a part in determining how people vote.

For the first time in the multi-party era none of the main candidates are from the country's largest ethnic group - Kikuyu.

But knowing that those votes are vital, both have chosen Kikuyu running mates.

Voting process

To win the presidential race in the first round, a candidate needs:

more than half of all the votes cast across the country

at least 25% of the votes cast in a minimum of 24 counties.

Voters will also be choosing MPs and senators to go to the national parliament, county governors and county assembly members, as well as 47 women's representatives to sit in the National Assembly.

Counting will start at the polling stations shortly after voting ends. Officials will then take a photo of the final tally and send the image to both the constituency and national tallying centres.

To ensure transparency the media, political parties and civil society groups have been urged to run their own tallies using final results declared at the more than 40,000 polling stations.

But only the electoral commission can declare the winner of the presidential election after verifying the physical and digital forms sent to the national tallying centre.

BBC

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Ruto so far unexpectedly leading:

Early signs show tight Kenyan presidential election

MEDIA TALLIES

At 0800 GMT, privately-owned Citizen Television showed Ruto leading with just over 50 percent of the vote and Odinga at 48.5 percent. The privately-owned Nation group had Ruto leading by 51 percent to Odinga's 48 percent.

But academics following the media's tally said they had found some errors, and cautioned that those results were not official.

The election commission, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), posted images of more than 95% of election result forms, from a total of 46,663 polling stations.

The commission is only posting pictures, not numbers. Only two out of 290 constituency-level results are available on the commission's website. The constituency result forms have to be tallied at the site and then physically taken to the national tallying centre in the capital, Nairobi, and verified before the commission issues official results.

The process is partly the result of a Supreme Court ruling in 2017 that overturned the initial re-election of Kenyatta in August that year, citing the commission's failure to follow the process to the letter.

At a constituency tallying centre in the county hall of the western town of Eldoret, green-vested officials walked through rows of neatly stacked ballot boxes. Country music blared through the sound system but was paused when electoral officials announced newly-received results from each station over a microphone.

In the centre of town, throngs of men huddled on sidewalks, excitedly talking politics.

“We are happy because William Ruto will be our next president!” exclaimed one.

Meanwhile in Kisumu, the heartland of Odinga, the vuvuzelas and whistles had quieted down as citizens awaited results.

- Reuters

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Soomaalida so far Raila ugu wada shubeen:

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Hambalyo xildhibaanka cusub Faarax Macallin Dawaara oo hib loo doortay sagaal sano ka dib. Faarax waa nin Soomaalinimada aad ugu weyntahay. Faarax Macallin wuxuu ahaan doonaa xildhibaan matalo deegaanka Dhadhaab ee NFD.

 

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Odinga leads now:

[maakhiri1]

On 8/10/2022 at 8:41 PM, Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar said:

Soomaalida so far Raila ugu wada shubeen:

How come vote count is low 

[maakhiri1]

19 minutes ago, Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar said:

Hambalyo xildhibaanka cusub Faarax Macallin Dawaara oo hib loo doortay sagaal sano ka dib. Faarax waa nin Soomaalinimada aad ugu weyntahay. Faarax Macallin wuxuu ahaan doonaa xildhibaan matalo deegaanka Dhadhaab ee NFD.

 

Congratulations Farah Moalim

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

 

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

It is a tie now.

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

27 minutes ago, maakhiri1 said:

How come vote count is low 

It was from the early hours yesterday. Will update soon.

[maakhiri1]

9 hours ago, Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar said:

It is a tie now.

I think they will form government together, else violence will erupt like last time  extremely close