Media houses in Kenya have stopped broadcasting the provisional results of the presidential poll.
This halt to broadcasting of the polls has left Kenyans even more restless, raising questions over the outcome of the vote as the counting process entered its fourth day on Friday, August 12.
Nonetheless, the Tuesday, August 9 election was peaceful.
However, disputes over previous presidential elections have been followed by violence, fueling jitters as provisional results point to a tight race between frontrunners William Ruto and Raila Odinga.
Moreover, after the 2017 presidential poll was annulled by the Supreme Court, due to irregularities and mismanagement by the IEBC, the electoral commission is under pressure to deliver a transparent vote and has uploaded forms to its website showing the results from each polling station.
In addition, as the electoral body tallies results, Kenyan TV channels have been carrying out their own count, based on the forms.
However, they stopped doing so on Thursday, August 11, with around a million votes left to go.
Nevertheless, the media houses have provided no explanation for the sudden stop in counting.
Likewise, IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati urged Kenyans not to worry about the different outcomes projected by various TV channels.
“There should be no panic about the differences we are seeing on the media screens,” he stated.
He further added that official results would be released by the IEBC.
Furthermore, during this year’s polls, the turnout was lower as compared to previous elections.
Kenyans voted in six leaders during Tuesday polls, choosing a new president as well as senators, governors, lawmakers, woman representatives and some 1,500 county officials.
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Meanwhile, the commission has verified and announced results from 14 out of the 291 constituencies including the prisons and diaspora.
