Kenyan elections: spoiled ballots and rejected votes
Everyone I speak to in Kenya has the same word to describe the atmosphere: tense.
Three days after the election, in which more than 70 per cent of eligible Kenyans are believed to have participated, there is still no outcome.
The website of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) brings you up-to-date with results declared so far, as does the Daily Nation.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Uhuru Kenyatta, is retaining the lead he established from the start, but his opponents are contesting this. This morning, a spokesman for his main rival, Raila Odinga, said such were the irregularities, the count should be stopped.
At first, results flowed in quickly via a new electronic transmission system which was supposed to guard against fraud.
But large numbers of polling stations found themselves unable to use the system, either because they didn’t have the batteries to power the equipment or the training to operate it properly.
Several of the constituencies which lagged behind in delivering results were strongholds of Raila Odinga. As the results dried up, Kenyan TV stopped showing scenes of the vote count centre at Bomas of Kenya, and broadcast cute pet videos instead.
One problem was the large number of spoiled ballots – in fact, if Spoiled Ballot had been a candidate, he would have come in third.
That matters. If no candidate gets over 50 per cent, there will be a run-off. If the spoiled ballots are counted as “votes cast” in the final tally, it’s hard for any candidate to get over the threshold. If only “valid votes cast” are counted, then Kenyatta may well win in the first round.
There’s been an argument over what constitutes as “spoiled ballot” and whether a “rejected ballot” is different – an arcane and legalistic dispute, but one which may decide this election. The election law and the new constitution also seem to differ.
Since yesterday evening, the ballots are being counted and tallied manually. Suddenly the number of invalid ballots has dropped from more than 300,000 to less than 40,000. Those who benefit say this means the count is now fair; those who don’t, say the count is tainted.
At one point, Uhuru Kenyatta’s people announced that the confusion was all the fault of the British High Commission – meddling foreigners trying to influence the outcome. On the whole, though, Kenya’s leaders are tempering their rhetoric. Everyone is terrified that a disputed result will lead to violence as it did in 2007.
The IEBC says it hopes to announce a result tomorrow, or – if that’s not possible – by Monday. But whatever that result, it’s seems unlikely that everyone will accept it.
Losing candidates are all preparing to challenge the outcome in court – no wonder my friends in Kenya are tense.
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