The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has declared it will not release provisional election results for public consumption in the repeat presidential election set for October 26.
Through an internal memo dated Saturday, October 14, IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba explained that returning officers at polling stations will not be allowed to display results at that level as voting closes.
The officials will be required instead, to send a scanned copy of the results declaration forms to the constituency and National tallying centres simultaneously before the the physical forms are taken to theformer.
This move is aimed at treating one of the ailments that led to the Supreme Court nullifying the August 26 poll although the scrapping of provisional results means Kenyans would have to wait a little longer to know how their favorite presidential candidate is fairing in the race.
During the hearing of the his petition in August, Nasa candidate, Raila Odinga, argued through his lawyers that the electoral agency had crafted a formula in the results servers that tweaked provisional results in favour of the incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta by ensuring he had a constant margin ahead of him.
Additionally, the memo revealed that with only 11 days to the poll, it is virtually impossible to reconfigure the election management system (KIEMS) to incorporate the other Presidential candidates following a High Court ruling that ordered IEBC to include Thirdway Alliance’s Ekuru Aukot name on the ballot.
