Tuesday, the 5th of March 2013 - The Chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Issack Hassan has moved quickly to allay fears after the commission’s provisional results system appeared to be stuck for several hours even as Kenyans eagerly await news of how the various candidates are performing especially in the Presidential race.
In a media briefing at the Bomas tallying centre a few minutes ago, Hassan admitted the delays but said that the commission would be releasing official results from tomorrow once the various returning arrive in Nairobi;
“These provisional results were meant to show the country where the results were being declared from. We had aimed for a near 100 percent perfection but we have experienced challenges in the last day,” he said.
“The good thing is that Returning Officers will be coming to present the official results for presidential elections, which shall be read here,” he added.
Hassan also revealed that each of the IEBC commissioners would, starting tomorrow, be reading the official results of the various polling stations and regions under their supervision.
The IEBC Chairman also dismissed reports that have been doing the rounds on the internet that the IEBC has lost data after its main server crashed earlier today and had no way to retrieve it.
“The commission is aware of these delays and that they are giving rise to different speculations and rumours that the server of the commission has crashed and I want to assure you that this is not true,” he asserted.
The provisional results so far give the Jubilee alliance flag bearer Uhuru Kenyatta the lead with 53% of the votes counted so far while CORD’s Raila Odinga comes a close second with 42%.
More updates to follow.
The Kenyan DAILY POST