KENYA: Opposition rejects Mwai Kibaki's win, Chief EU observer says Kenya's presidential poll questionable

Record ID: 360796

  • Title: KENYA: Opposition rejects Mwai Kibaki's win, Chief EU observer says Kenya's presidential poll questionable
  • Date: 31st December 2007
  • Summary: (W4) NAIROBI, KENYA (DECEMBER 30, 2007) (REUTERS) EUROPEAN UNION (EU) CHIEF OBSERVER, ALEXANDER GRAF LAMBSDORFF TALKING TO JOURNALIST (SOUNDBITE) (English) EU CHIEF OBSERVER, ALEXANDER GRAF LAMBSDORFF, SAYING: "Well the legal framework provides generally for a framework that is workable for elections. Kenya can have elections, Kenya showed this in 2002. The 2002 elections
  • Embargoed: 15th January 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: International Relations,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA49A0D4YTA1E03Y1RMXK4E808S
  • Story Text: Kenya's opposition rejects Kibaki's win and plans alternative inauguration.
    Government suspends all live broadcasts and chief EU observer, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff says Kenya's presidential poll count is questionable and a far cry from the successful elections in 2002.
    Pushing the stakes higher after Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki won a second five-year term on Sunday (December 30) in a disputed election, his opposition rival Raila Odinga rejected the results as rigged and announced an alternative inauguration for Monday (December 31) in a Nairobi park.

    "Tomorrow we shall go to Uhuru (Freedom) park so that we can see who is the true president of Kenya," said Odinga.
    Kibaki's victory triggered deadly riots by tens of thousands of opposition supporters.
    To curb spreading chaos in a nation usually known as a haven of stability in volatile east Africa, the government sent trucks of police onto the streets and banned live TV transmissions.
    Chief European Union observer Alexander Graf Lambsdorff said that doubts remained over the accuracy of the count after Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki win on Sunday (December 30) sparked public unrest.

    "Well the legal framework provides generally for a framework that is workable for elections. Kenya can have elections, Kenya showed this in 2002. The 2002 elections were an example for the region, that is what the European Union said at the time. Our standard, our yardstick if you wish for the Kenyan elections in 2007 were the elections five years ago. We wanted Kenya to maintain the standard ideally even to improve on it for the sake of Kenyan democracy. In the parliamentary round i think it is fair to say, yes, they were a success, the yardstick, the benchmark has been fulfilled. In the presidential we have encountered substantial problems that I believe it is not fair to say that the standards have been improved upon," he said.
    Lambsdorff said the Electoral Commission of Kenya (EKE) had not established the credibility of the tallying process.

    "Well I believe some of the political discussion that we are now seeing has to do with the very fact that the ECK has not succeeded in establishing tallying process that was acceptable to all candidates and parties. The fact that this tallying process was not credible now leads some political actors to behave outside the regular avenues for normal political activity, as far as the electoral process is concerned I have said very clearly the tallying process lacks credibility and despite the good efforts of chairman Kivuitu, the ECK has not fulfilled its responsibilities to create such a process that is credible and is acceptable to all parties and candidates," added Lambsdorff.
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