Why NASA postponed election results briefing

 

National Super Alliance leader Raila Odinga consoles the wife and children of slain former national election ICT manager Chris Msando at their house in Embakasi Estate, Nairobi last evening. Msando will be buried on Sunday in Ugenya, Siaya County.

A delay by the electoral commission to provide all requested documents to facilitate verification of the presidential results reportedly prompted Opposition leaders to postpone their briefing yesterday.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) was unable to immediately furnish the National Super Alliance (NASA) with all the forms 34A that detail tallied results from each polling station, instead only committing to provide forms 34B that aggregate tallies at constituency level.

Opposition leaders led by Raila Odinga were in a day-long meeting with their technical teams that are verifying data from the IEBC against their own data.

"The commission is in a position to provide all the requested forms 34B immediately. We are, however, not able to provide all forms 34A at the moment but the same shall be availed to you as soon as possible," IEBC Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba reportedly stated in a letter responding to NASA's request.

Sources privy to the NASA meeting told The Standard yesterday that they had also received more damning information.

The alleged electoral fraud reportedly included handwritten results on plain paper retrieved from the IEBC public portal for Mandera South ward, Elwak South polling centre and Bulla Dadacha polling station.

"The winner announced by the IEBC in the presidential election is a computer-generated president. We are gathering all evidence to back our claims and present to Kenyans water-tight proof that the elections were a sham," said an insider privy to the discussions.

Another source indicated: "We are not in a hurry to make the big announcement just for the sake of it. We want Kenyans to know the truth and how their votes didn't count in the final tally."

According to the sources, the NASA summit also deliberated over the ongoing crackdown on non-government organisations critical of the election outcome.

Although NASA leaders have insisted they will not file an election petition at the Supreme Court, reports indicated one was to be filed through proxy, possible by a civil society group.

The Government has shut down operations of the African Centre for Open Governance (AfriCoG) and Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), which have been critical of both the Jubilee administration and the outcome of the presidential vote.

Yesterday, the source who spoke to The Standard in confidence said during the meeting, the NASA co-principals received written and unwritten submissions allegedly showing how the electoral fraud was perpetuated to tilt the win in favour of some candidates in elective seats apart from the presidency.

Source explained

The source explained that the credibility of last week's election was hinged on the availability of forms 34A and 34B.

"We have continued to receive more and more damning information even from the electoral commission. It is information that we cannot rush. We must sieve through it and tell Kenyans and the whole world why this election was a sham," said the source.

Yesterday evening, NASA presidential chief agent Musalia Mudavadi said the consultations were taking longer than anticipated.

"Owing to the urgency, complexity and delicate nature of issues the NASA summit is handling, our consultations are on-going and progressing well. NASA will issue a comprehensive statement to the nation tomorrow (today)," said Mr Mudavadi.

Mudavadi and Siaya Senator James Orengo had initially told IEBC off over the results at the Bomas of Kenya, insisting that what was being displayed was not genuine.

By yesterday evening, the NASA summit was still locked up in deliberations on the way forward for its principals.

Sources also suggested Raila could open channels for private talks with the Government following reports that President Uhuru Kenyatta's emissaries saw him on Friday night.