Mwai Kibaki declared winner, sworn in

Dec 31, 2007

KENYA'S President Mwai Kibaki was last evening declared winner of a disputed election that triggered deadly riots by tens of thousands of opposition supporters. Pushing the stakes still higher, his opposition rival Raila Odinga rejected the results as rigged and announced an alternative inauguration

By Vision reporter
and agencies


KENYA'S President Mwai Kibaki was last evening declared winner of a disputed election that triggered deadly riots by tens of thousands of opposition supporters. Pushing the stakes still higher, his opposition rival Raila Odinga rejected the results as rigged and announced an alternative inauguration for today in Nairobi’s Uhuru Park.

To curb spreading chaos in a country known as a haven of stability in the region, the government sent trucks of police onto the streets and banned live TV transmissions.

According to the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), Kibaki won with 4,584,721 votes, while Odinga got 4,352,993.
As smoke billowed from protests in Nairobi’s slums, Kibaki was sworn in on the lawn of State House just an hour after the result was announced, his hand on the Bible.

The 76-year-old Kibaki urged Kenyans to put aside election “passions” and promised a corruption-free government to forge unity.

“I urge all of us to set aside the divisive views and opinions we held during the campaign period, and instead embrace one another as brothers and sisters.”
In a sharp contrast to the chaos and violence caused by the delay in releasing the results and allegations of fraud, Kibaki continued: “The freedom of choice, the openness and integrity of the electoral process, and the peaceful manner in which we conducted ourselves as people has raised Kenya’s democratic profile throughout the world.”

Some Kibaki supporters celebrated in the streets. But they were quickly outnumbered by furious Odinga supporters.

Nation Television reported that 10 people were killed in Kisii, in Odinga’s ethnic Luo homeland. Police shot into a crowd in Kisumu, killing another three people, residents said. A Reuters reporter was attacked in Kisumu.

In Kibera, Nairobi’s biggest shantytown, witnesses said protesters burned shacks as they chanted pro-Odinga slogans.

“There’s a lot of heat over here. People are out in their thousands,” Kibera resident Joshua Odutu said against a backdrop of gunshots, whistles and shouting.

Earlier in the evening, the head of the electoral commission, Samuel Kivuitu, had to be escorted to safety by paramilitary police amid chaotic scenes at the main vote tallying centre.

The chaos erupted when the release of the results of Molo constituency were immediately challenged by the returning officer, who claimed the number of votes for Kibaki had been inflated by 20,000.

At a subsequent press conference, an official of the Electoral Commission stunned the media when he declared there had been “shameless, blatant and open alterations” of the presidential results at the commission’s headquarters.
Results in his constituencies in Coastal Province and Upper Eastern had been inflated by up to 20,000 votes in favour of Kibaki, he said.

Calling the electoral commissioners “Kibaki cronies”, Odinga estimated the extent of rigging at 300,000 votes.
“One wonders why Kibaki called these elections if he wanted to continue and rule by decree”, Odinga told journalists.
“Kenyans will not accept the results of a rigged election. Nothing will prevent the people of Kenya from achieving what they want.”

His party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), said it was planning its own alternative inauguration ceremony of its leader at Nairobi’s Uhuru Park.
“We are inviting Kenyans to Uhuru Park, Monday at 2:00pm for the presentation to the nation of the people’s President, elected Honourable Raila Amolo Odinga,” the party said in a statement.

Chief European Union observer Alexander Graf Lambsdorff said doubts remained about the accuracy of the final count.

“We believe that, at this time, the Electoral Commission, despite the best efforts of its chairman, has not succeeded in establishing the credibility of the tallying process to the satisfaction of all parties and candidates,” he said in a statement.
“We regret that it has not been possible to address irregularities about which both the EU and the ECK have evidence. Some doubt remains as to the accuracy of the result of the presidential election as announced today (Sunday).”

Britain has expressed concern over the reported irregularities. “We have real concerns at the irregularities reported by the EU observers and others,” said Foreign Secretary David Miliband in a statement.

“We call on all Kenya’s political leaders and democratic institutions to work together to address those concerns...”
Britain looked forward to working with a “legitimately elected government of Kenya, which commands the support of the Kenyan people.”

The election was a pivotal moment for Kenya and its outcome had to be seen by Kenyans to be fair, Miliband said.
Violence that had marred the election must not be repeated, he said, urging all sides to “pursue their disputes peacefully through dialogue and the appeals process.”

Business leaders said the riots were costing over $30 million a day in lost taxes, not to mention looting damage, and threatened investment and tourism in Kenya.

The few supermarkets and food shops that opened in Nairobi yesterday were packed with nervous customers. Shelves of meat, milk, beer, bottled water and other provisions emptied fast.

Reactions
Koki Muli, Institute of Education in Democracy
“This is the saddest day in the history of democracy in this country. It is a coup d’etat. It is not about who wins, it is about the legitimacy and the credibility of the process.”

Alexander Lambsdorff, head of EU observers
“We regret that it has not been possible to address irregularities about which both the EU and the ECK have evidence... some doubt remains as to the accuracy of the result of the presidential election as announced today.”

George Ogola, UK-based political analyst

“The voting was fine but the tallying was a bit suspect. The ECK did not handle the situation in the best possible way. They were under pressure from both sides. The post-election parliament needs to look into the independence of the ECK. I don’t think Raila will concede defeat in the short term.”

Robert Shaw, economic analyst and businessman

“From all the evidence there is, the presidential poll was very flawed and there is no real confirmation that Kibaki is the winner. We are in for a period of violence and turbulence, without doubt.”

Mwalimu Mati, Anti-Corruption Mars Group

“If the president wanted to have himself announced as president, he should have done that five months ago. He has no right, legal or constitutional, to accept a verdict that says he is president when he knows very, very, very well that he has actually lost the election.”

Razia Khan – Africa economist, Standard Chartered Bank

“Given the controversy that accompanied the announcement of results by the Electoral Commission of Kenya, and the outbreak of unrest, a relief rally by markets is unlikely. Near term, if the unrest does not subside, the Kenya shilling is likely to come under pressure.

Colin Bruce – Country Director World Bank

“The results are a very forceful appeal to the government to strengthen programmes that directly benefit the poor in areas such as education, health and employment; continue sound private sector-led growth policies; and massively scale up the fight against corruption.”

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});