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Kenya poll agency calls off repeat vote in western counties

Friday October 27 2017
By The EastAfrican

Kenya's electoral commission has called off repeat presidential election in four counties in western opposition strongholds.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati said Friday a new date would be announced later.

The commission had postponed voting in Kisumu, Homa Bay, Siaya and Migori counties and some parts in northern Kenya to Saturday after the exercise failed to take place on Thursday.

Polling clerks failed to show up, citing threats on their lives with protesting youths barricading voting centres to prevent delivery of ballots.

Police engaged the protesters in running battles on election day boycotted by the opposition.

“Yesterday, (Thursday) some of our staff were hijacked, tortured in some areas, some of their homes broken into and looted. Others were forbidden and violently prevented from reporting to their polling stations and were literally chased away. Some had to take refuge in polling stations up to now,” said Mr Chebukati. 

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The electoral laws allow the IEBC to postpone elections in case of a breach of peace, natural disaster or emergency or where there is electoral malpractice.

Of the 40,883 polling stations, voting failed to take place in 3,635 of them.

Mr Chebukati Friday said the election will only be conducted on Saturday in five polling stations in Fafi constituency in the northeast Garissa county and five others in northwest Turkana Central constituency where the exercise failed to take place over insecurity and heavy rainfall respectively.

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