The verification process ongoing at the Bomas of Kenya is almost done ahead of the much awaited announcement by Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati.
According to IEBC, they will try to burn the midnight oil in a bid to hit the 291 constituencies in the ongoing exercise of verifying and tallying presidential results.
By midday today, the Commission had relayed verified results from 200 constituencies of the 291.
However, the commission is yet to declare 91 more constituencies in a process marred by chaotic scenes over counter accusations by agents of leading candidates Raila Odinga of Azimio coalition and United Democratic Alliance’s (UDA) William Ruto.
The Commission yesterday hastened the process of validating presidential results from constituencies to beat the seven-day constitutional deadline to declare the outcome of Tuesday’s election.
But chaotic scenes in the tallying hall prompted the deployment of anti-riot police officers.
The Chebukati led commission has until Tuesday, August 16, 2022, to declare the winner of the presidential election to succeed the outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta whose second and final term has ended.
The tallying of the results, which began on Thursday, kicked off at a slow pace worrying the already restless and anxious Kenyans waiting to know the election’s outcome.
“We have observed that we are not moving as fast as we should. Therefore, this exercise needs to be concluded as soon as possible,” Chebukati said on Friday as he announced a 15-minute timeline for validation of each Form 34B to speed up the process.
This forced the commission to heighten their pace in an effort to hit the deadline day as Kenyans anxiously wait for the much awaited results.