Kenyans should remain peaceful but results should also be credible
The Kenya Red Alliance takes this opportunity to congratulate millions of Kenyans who took their time to vote on Monday, 4th March 2013. Having cast their votes peacefully without major incidents, KRA takes the position that what Kenyans deserve is a credible and transparent vote tallying process which leaves no doubt about the winner especially on the Presidential elections.
The Central Committee of the Kenya Red Alliance takes great exception with serious concerns which have been expressed by the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy that Party agents have been thrown out of the counting center at Bomas of Kenya; that results being transmitted do not tally with results which were announced at the polling stations and, most importantly, that the tallying process should be stopped because the credibility of results will be in question if the issues CORD has raised are not addressed.
Kenyans have just emerged from death and bloodbath following the rigging of the 2007 elections which brought the outgoing President Mwai Kibaki to power to fraudulently serve for a second term. KRA is concerned that in his brief statement, Kalonzo Musyoka, the running mate of CORD’s Presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, singled out IEBC as the chief culprit in the current irregularities CORD is witnessing at the tallying center. It will be a big disaster for the people of Kenya if the result of the elections is rejected by CORD on the basis of fraudulent activities of IEBC whose electronic tallying system collapsed on Monday, forcing the Commission to revert to the manual tallying system.
The Central Committee of KRA wishes to draw the attention of IEBC to the fact that messing up the elections carries with it serious repercussions (including civil war) and that under the circumstances, it is important that the tallying process be seen to be transparent especially by the main stake holders and millions of their supporters.
The Kenya Red Alliances sympathizes with forces calling for Kenyans to accept the result of the elections without mentioning that such results ought to have gone through a transparent process free from manipulation. The view of KRA is that it will be impossible for millions of Kenyans to remain peaceful if their hopes and aspirations collapse under the weight of a rigged election masterminded by IEBC in collaboration with its conspirators.
We take note that before IEBC abolished the verification of votes, the Police Commissioner, the Army Chief and the Chief of Intelligence visited Bomas last night and held a closed door meeting with IEBC officials. The fear of KRA is that these State officers may have gone to Bomas to intimidate IEBC officials because why was the verification of votes stopped soon after their visit and why are votes being announced more than registered voters in some constituencies which were named by CORD?
While it is paramount that Kenyans maintain the peace, KRA believes that there can be no peace without electoral justice manifested through a fair and transparent electoral process. Under the circumstances, KRA appeals to IEBC to take note of concerns being raised by CORD and to address them immediately. It will be a great disservice to the Kenyan nation if IEBC messes up elections because the consequences may be far much worse that what was witnessed following the rigging of election in 2007. KRA hopes that IEBC fully understands the consequences of being compromised in any way to deliver results which do not reflect the will of the people of Kenya. KRA takes this early opportunity to warn the IEBC that it will be responsible for any adverse reactions by the people of Kenya if they become part of the key component of election rigging to once again cheat the people of Kenya. While it is the responsibility of contestants to concede defeat after the announcement of results, it is critical that the results that are subject to acceptance are authentic, real and a true reflection of the people of Kenya, not fake, fraudulent and rigged.
Martin Ngatia
Chairman, Kenya Red Alliance
About the Author
mKenya’s vice president has dismissed the incoming presidential election results in the African country, saying that there is evidence showing vote-rigging.
Kalonzo Musyoka alleged on Thursday that the vote results from the presidential race had been “doctored” and said that the ballot count lacked integrity and had to be stopped.
The outgoing vice president said that in some cases “total votes cast exceeds the actual number of registered voters.”
However, Musyoka said that his accusations were not “a call to mass destruction.” Instead, he urged calm and pointed out that his party was “committed to the principle of rule of law.”
Musyoka is running beside Prime Minister Raila Odinga for the Coalition for Reform and Democracy (CORD).
Odinga is trailing the leader in the polls, Uhuru Kenyatta, who is due to stand trial at the International Criminal Court over allegations of involvement in orchestrating violence after the 2007 election.
Hours ahead of the opening of the polling stations on Monday, several gunmen killed 19 Kenyans, including security forces, in an attack in the port city of Mombasa.
Why should Kenyans have confidence with Hassan ?He must he special corrupt to resist Mt Kenya Mafia?Today is Thursday the 7th. Whilst the law provided for the time delay in announcing the results, it is very clear that Hassan was not in control, was being evasive or unsure of what was going on. Hassan simply lacked the minimum threshold of confidence to maintain credibility on the part of the Commission, in his periodic explanations on the same.
40 plus million Zombies being conned by election thugs whose loyalty is with corrupt gema mafias?
This election is not just about who wins or loses, but transparency and perceived integrity is essential for all the parties concerned on the whole process to its full completion.
Many around the world are mourning the passing of Hugo Chavez, one of the greatest anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist leaders of modern political history. In France, hundreds rallied to share their sympathy with the Venezuelan nation. Ramin Mazaheri has more from Paris.
Amid chants of “The people, united, will never be defeated” hundreds of admirers gathered in Paris to honor deceased Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. The rally testified to the positive impact of a man who insisted on Venezuela’s right to control its own destiny.
Prior to Chavez, Venezuela had been held hostage by foreign oil companies. Thanks to the manipulations of Standard Oil of the US and Dutch Shell, Venezuela remained mired in poverty despite one of the world’s largest oil reserves.
Chavez’s major international legacy will be how he reasserted the independence of OPEC and ended the era of cheap oil, much to the dismay of the West.
A true socialist, Chavez pushed oil profits into schools, hospitals and relief for the poor. Capitalists call this “market inefficiency” but many call it humane and just.
its only fair to concede defeat if there is more transparency and justice bt without that i would do the same thing. i say they should surely stop and be fair
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21710219
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