Tight race for State House as vote count on
IEBC clerks work to verify presidential results of the just concluded general election in the national tallying centre at 'The Bomas of Kenya' in Nairobi on August 13, 2022.
Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto are neck-and-neck in the race to State House, with results from 96 out of 291 constituencies tallied even as errors in forms threatened to slow the process.
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) presidential candidate was leading with 2,879,409 votes against the ODM party leader’s 2,747,263 votes. According to the figures by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the two political rivals were only separated by a paltry 132,146 votes.
The other candidates in the race to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta, Roots Party’s George Wajackoyah and Agano’s David Mwaure Waihiga, could only garner less than 25,000 votes. Prof Wajackoyah was a distant third with 24,621 votes, while Mr Waihiga had a measly 13,454 votes.
A number of inconsistencies in forms 34A and 34B on the IEBC portal raised eyebrows over the figures being announced by the electoral agency. For instance, at Bomani Primary School polling station in Kilifi County, the uploaded form indicates that Mr Odinga got 991 votes, Ruto 81, Wajackoyah five, while Mwaure got nothing. It is not possible for a candidate to get 991 in a polling station as the number of voters per polling station was capped at 700 by the IEBC. Interestingly, the presiding officer recorded the total number of votes cast as 285.
Presidential results
The electoral commission also yesterday flagged 10,000 votes in Kiambu Town constituency that was erroneously given to Dr Ruto.
Announcing verified presidential results from various constituencies at the Bomas of Kenya auditorium, Commissioner Justus Nyang'aya pointed out the initial figures showed that the UDA presidential candidate garnered 51,050 votes, but it was noticed that there was an error in forms 34A, which were corrected in Form 34C where the correct figure was captured as 41,050.
"There was an error in Form 34A, which was corrected in Form 34C," Mr Nyang'aya said.
He also pointed out that in Thindigua Primary School Station, Mr Odinga was captured as having got 11 votes while the correct figure was 111. Mr Nyang'aya said the anomaly was corrected and the correct figure entered.
At Kiptende Primary polling station 2 in Kuresoi South, Nakuru County, votes cast doesn't tally with what the agent wrote down.
According to what has been uploaded at the IEBC portal, Mr Odinga got five votes, Ruto 322, Mr Mwaure got zero, while Mr Wajackoyah got two votes. This translates into 329 votes cast, but in the finally tally, the presiding officer has recorded the total votes cast as 331, leaving two votes unaccounted for. The station has 426 registered voters.
Actual total
In Gem Constituency, Siaya County), Olengo Primary School, votes cast don't tally with the actual total. The total number of votes cast, according to Form 34A is 425, but in the total number of votes cast the presiding officer has recorded 424. In that station, Mr Odinga got 424, while Mr Wajackoyah got one, with DP Ruto and Mr Mwaure walking out empty-handed.
In Turkana West, Lopur Primary School polling station votes cast don't tally with the listed total. According to Form 34A on the IEBC portal, the number of votes cast is 316, but what is recorded in the final form uploaded onto the IEBC website is 319 votes.
In that polling station, Mr Odinga garnered 128, DP Ruto 186, with Mr Wajackoyah and Mr Mwaure getting one vote each.
In Kuresoi South, Kapkores Primary, votes cast don't tally with listed total. Total number of votes cast is 325, but in the final tally, it is recorded as zero. DP Ruto scooped all the votes in this polling station, according to Form 34A on the IEBC portal.
Votes uncounted for
In Subukia (Nakuru), Kahatia Public Open land polling station 2, total votes cast don't tally with listed total. According to Form 34A on the IEBC portal, the total number of votes cast is 220, but in the total final votes cast, it is recorded as 222, leaving two votes uncounted for. At the polling station, Mr Odinga got 54 votes, DP Ruto 163 votes, while both Mwaure and Wajackoyah got one each.
In Kuresoi South (Nakuru County), Keringet Township polling station 04, the total number of votes cast is 429, but in the final tally, it is recorded as 431.In that polling station, Mr Odinga got 10 votes, DP Ruto 419 votes, while both Mr Mwaure and Wajackoyah had zero.
At the time of going to press, 46,205 forms 34A out of the total 46,229 had been uploaded onto the commission’s public portal.
