Johannesburg – Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is to announce the results of last week’s presidential election rerun on Monday, the East African reports.
The election results come the same day Amnesty International accuses Kenyan police of excessive brutality and intimidation against opposition protesters.
While President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to be announced the winner, after little over a third of Kenyan voters took part in last Thursday’s polls and opposition supporters of Raila Odinga largely boycotted the event, the IEBC will also announce whether it will hold the poll in 25 constituencies where it was postponed.
Sunday night Consolata Nkatha, IEBC vice-chairperson, said the results from six of the remaining seven constituencies from Thursday had been received.
“We have received results from six constituencies now and we will be in a position to announce the final results tomorrow morning,” said Nkatha.
The counties where the commission postponed the repeat election are Kisumu, Migori, Siaya and Homa Bay.
The IEBC initially ruled that the poll for those areas would take place last Saturday but subsequently decided to cancel the rerun due to the unrest and uncertainty gripping the East African country.
Furthermore, Deputy President William Ruto on Sunday ruled out the possibility of the country holding fresh elections in 90 days as demanded by opposition leader Odinga.
“Our position on the matter is that Kenya is a constitutional democracy,” he told Al Jazeera during an interview.
“We respect the rule of law. Every situation has been provided for under the Constitution, and Odinga’s call for fresh elections within 90 days is not constitutional.”
Meanwhile, Amnesty International in a Monday press release accused Kenya’s police of using unlawful force against protesters and bystanders in the western city of Kisumu, an opposition stronghold.
Amnesty said the excessive force appeared to be a deliberate campaign to punish inhabitants for continuing to protest amid chaotic elections over the past week.
In Nairobi, instances of police brutality were interspersed with acts of violence and intimidation by supporters of the two main political figures in the country – incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
“In Kisumu, the evidence we gathered paints a grim picture of police shooting, aggressively assaulting, and even breaking into the homes of people suspected to be protesters,” said the rights group, “but also those who happen to be in the vicinity of protests”.
People have been seriously injured or shot while buying food in the market, walking home from school or resting in their homes,” said Justus Nyang’aya, head of Amnesty International Kenya.
“What we are witnessing appears to be punitive policing; a blatant attempt to intimidate and punish residents in the opposition stronghold.”
Many of those shot appear to have been hit because police fired live rounds indiscriminately. Some were clearly bystanders.
“The failure of the police to disclose clear information on fatal shootings is deeply concerning. All shooting incidents should be immediately investigated by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority,” said Nyang’aya.