Raila Odinga, the leader of the National Super Alliance, said election commission computer systems and databases were tampered with overnight to “create errors” in favour of rival candidate Uhuru Kenyatta, who has been in power since 2013.

Odinga urged his supporters to remain calm, but added: “I don’t control the people.”

“You can only cheat the people for so long,” he said. “The 2017 general election was a fraud.”

With ballots from 96% of polling stations counted, results released by Kenya’s electoral commission show Kenyatta leading with 54.4% of the vote, against Odinga’s 44.8%, a difference of 1.4 million votes.

The electionis seen as a key test of the stability of one of Africa’s most important countries.

Across most of the country streets were empty, most businesses remained shut and an uneasy calm prevailed. The violent incidents were limited, raising hopes that Kenya may avoid a major breakdown of law and order.

In the western city of Kisumu police fired teargas at a group of 100 opposition supporters who had been chanting: “No Raila, no peace.”

Protests were also held in the poor Nairobi neighbourhood of Mathare, an Odinga stronghold.

At about 2pm, two young men were killed and five injured when police opened fire on demonstrators who had blocked a road, a witness told the Guardian.

Japheth Koome, Nairobi police chief, said the men who had been shot were thieves.

Scattered clashes in Mathare continued throughout the afternoon, with groups of youths hurling rocks at police who responded with teargas.

“We want them to hear. They won’t hear us shouting. So we will use stones. We know our rights and they can’t kill us all,” said Kevin Odhiambo, a 25-year-old carpenter in Mathare.

But others from the neighbourhood branded the protesters “troublemakers”.

A third death occurred when police opened fire in Kisii county, 300km west of the capital.

Kenya Railways suspended operations of trains on its recently launched line from Mombasa to Nairobi – a flagship infrastructure project – until further notice.

In 2007, Odinga’s angry rejection of the result in an election marred by irregularities prompted rioting and retaliation by security forces that tipped the country into its worst crisis for decades. About 1,200 people were killed in the ethnic violence that followed.

Odinga, a polarising figure who was making his fourth bid for power, also claimed that the murder of a senior election official last week was linked to the alleged hacking attack. Chris Msando, the election commission’s head of IT, was found strangled and tortured in a forest on the outskirts of Nairobi.

Odinga, 72, said Msando’s identity and log-ins had been used to access key computer servers by those behind the rigging attempt.

The EU observer mission declined to comment on Odinga’s claims, which election officials have said they will investigate. “We will come up with a methodology to verify the allegations made on hacking,” said Waguma Chebukati, the chair of the electoral commission. “For now, I cannot say whether or not the system has been hacked.”

The Kenya human rights commission – a well-known non-governmental organisation – said it had discovered some discrepancies in an initial comparison between provisional results announced by the election commission and paper forms signed at polling stations by party agents.

In coming days, election officials will present more forms allowing further scrutiny of the results.

Many Kenyans say a repeat of the violence of 2007 is unlikely as the country has learned from the traumatic experience. One voter told the Guardian during polling that younger citizens wanted “peace, peace, peace”.

In 2013, Odinga also rejected defeat. He took his fight to the courts and lost.

Odinga supporters interviewed in recent days said they would not take to the streets if they believed they had been fairly defeated, though they insisted their leader had been robbed of victory during the last two polls.

“There won’t be any problems if the process is fair and transparent, but if it is being rigged there’ll be chaos,” said Paul Ouma, a bus company manager, before the poll.

Young men in Mathare predicted that “life would never be the same again” if the opposition lost. “People will fight … it will have been stolen,” said Brian Aswani.

In Kibera, another poor neighbourhood where Odinga is popular, young men said they would wait for their leader’s decision. “If we lose, then we will wait for our leader Raila [Odinga] to speak. If he says it is OK, then it is OK. If he says fight, we will fight,” said Abraham Ashidiva, 24.

Odinga, 72, is the son of Kenya’s first vice-president. He is an ethnic Luo from the west, an area that has long felt neglected by the central government and resentful of its perceived exclusion from power.

Kenyatta, the 55-year-old son of the first president, Jomo Kenyatta, is a Kikuyu, the ethnic group that has supplied three of the four presidents since independence from Britain in 1963.

On Tuesday, Kenyatta called on whoever lost to concede. “In the event that they lose, let us accept the will of the people. I am willing myself to accept the will of the people, so let them too,” Kenyatta said as he voted at the Mutomo primary school in Gatundu, about 20 miles north of the capital.

Later, Odinga told the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle that he would accept defeat “in the unlikely event that I lost fairly”.

To win the election, a candidate needs one vote more than 50%, and at least a quarter of the vote in 24 of Kenya’s 47 counties.

In addition to a new president, Kenyans are electing regional politicians after a 2010 constitution devolved power and money to the counties.

Observers see the election as the last confrontation of the dynastic rivalrybetween the families of Kenyatta and Odinga, which has lasted more than half a century. The presidential candidates’ fathers, Jomo Kenyatta and Jaramogi Odinga, went from allies in the struggle for independence from Britain to bitter rivals.

–

Sources: Guardian

The post Clashes in Kenya after opposition leader’s election fraud claim appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, such actions do not resonate with the country’s aspiration to build a nation based on trust, respect for human rights and tolerance.

In a statement issued on Thursday, December 15, 2016, on the developments on Ghana’s political landscape following the December 7 general elections, Mr Quashigah said the perpetrators of such acts must depart from the unhealthy tendencies.

“For those who think that when a political party to which they belong wins an election, then members of the vanquished party must be attacked, cowed and subdued to feel insecure should understand that it is a display of infantile and immature behaviour. We need to build a nation that is based on trust, respect for human rights and tolerance. Political actions and behaviours must be informed by the tenets that guide its practice and not acts of beastiality and criminality”

He said, following the elections, the country can be touted as one of the few countries in Africa with the most matured democracies.

He however expressed concern that the in spite of the positive stride, the country is yet to build very effective institutions devoid of political interference.

“With some degree of certainty, one could aptly say we have joined the league of matured and stable democracies of the world.” What perhaps is missing is the effective functioning of our institutions devoid of political interference and absence of apolitical personnel manning these institutions. This is a palpable minus for our glowing and admirable constitutional development which we all count as a pride.”

He said this situation has led to some youth of the NPP in the wake of their victory over the governing NDC in the recently held presidential elections, resort to “rampaging and illegally taking-over public establishments because those running these establishments are perceived wrongly as necessarily members of the vanquished political party even at a time when the vanquished political party is still in charge of government business.”

He further expressed shock over what he describes as lackadaisical attitude of the Ghana Police Service in dealing with the “criminality.”

“What was most surprising was the lackadaisical attitude of the Ghana Police Service to act against what was an obvious criminality; a clear manifestation of systemic and institutional failure.”

Addressing an accusation by former Minister of State, in the erstwhile Kufuor administration, Yaw Osarfo Marfo that the NDC government was recruiting new personnel and selling state property few month of exiting office, Mr Quashigah said the NDC government cannot afford to halt regular national administration activities because the country was in a transition period.

“Does those pronouncements and misgivings by Mr Osafo Marfo to suggest that government machinery must grind to a halt within the transition period? We must admit that the recruitment exercise started months before the general elections that was won by Nana Addo. Should it be truncated simply because a new government has won political power and is expected to assume the reins of government in some three weeks to come? That lends itself to the lack of trust in our own institutions,” he quizzed.

–

By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor

The post Post-election attacks infantile – Richard Quashigah appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

It has also called for the alleged perpetrators, including the Abontendomhene, to be brought to book by the relevant institutions.

[contextly_sidebar id=”oKzCBfoeZv8NHpcXFmnS5uIBwcbQNhQ6″]According to a statement from the campaign team, Mr. Atta Akyea, “intentionally drove his vehicle into a crowd of NDC supporters, wounding several people including the NDC’s mobile cinema crew in Kyebi.”

The incident reportedly occurred after the crew closed from a film screening highlighting President Mahama’s achievements at Akyem Asafo.

The statement also alleges that “irate members of the NPP, led by the Abontendomhene of Kyebi, then went on a rampage, destroying NDC banners, posters and other paraphernalia.”

The campaign team thus called on the National Peace Council and the National House of Chiefs to condemn and hold responsible the Abontendomhene for his actions.

It also implored the police to ensure that the necessary process is followed to bring those responsible for the attacks “to swift justice, and to ensure the safety of all voters in Kyebi.”

Find below the full statement

JM Campaign condemns attack on NDC supporters

The John Mahama 2016 Campaign wishes to denounce the violent and unprovoked attack on members of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) by the MP for Abuakwa South, Samuel Atta Akyea,  and the Abontendomhene of Kyebi.

Mr. Atta Akyea, who is MP in the constituency of the opposition leader, Nana Akuffo Addo, intentionally drove his  vehicle into a crowd of NDC supporters, wounding several people including the NDC’s mobile cinema crew in Kyebi.

The incident occurred after the crew closed from a ‘film show’ of President John Dramani’s Mahama’s achievements at Akyem Asafo.

Irate members of the NPP, led by the Abontendomhene of Kyebi, then went on a rampage, destroying NDC banners, posters and other paraphernalia.

The attack on our supporters and the destruction of campaign materials are illegal and infringes on the fundamental human right of the people to participate in multi- party politics and support a candidate of their choice.

This was a direct attack by the NPP on NDC supporters, and while calling on our supporters to continue to remain calm, we condemn unreservedly such dastardly acts by the opposition.

Coming just days after the leader of the opposition, despite his widely known violent nature, pledged to work towards a peaceful election before the international community and Ghanaians, we cannot hesitate to advise Nana Addo to learn and appreciate the need to provide leadership to his party and have them desist from violent actions.

We also do hope that the National Peace Council and the National House of Chiefs will condemn and hold responsible the Abontendomhene for his actions.

We implore the police to ensure that the necessary process is followed to bring those responsible for these attacks to swift justice, and to ensure the safety of all voters in Kyebi.

These unprovoked, violent and senseless attacks on Ghanaian citizens must be condemned and the perpetrators brought to book.

We, the NDC, believe in the right of every Ghanaian to vote in peace and safety.

Our vote is our response. Violence is not an option.

Joyce Bawah Mogtari

Spokesperson

John Mahama 2016 Campaign

–

By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Bring Atta Akyea to book for attacking us – Mahama campaign appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The programme which was done in collaboration with European Union and with the support from Regional Advisory Information Network Systems (RAINS) is to ensure peace before, during and after the December 7 general elections.

The Inter-party Dialogue Committee from which the trainees were drawn from in the area will serve as buffer zone where issues of conflicts and disputes could easily be resolved.

Members of the committee are to serve as agents of peace in their various communities and also monitor and report early warning signs of a possible electoral violence to the appropriate institutions.

Madam Sayibu Widadu who is the regional Director of RAINS, explained that her organization supporte the programme in a bid to promote a peaceful election in the country.

The project is also being implemented in other constituencies in the region including Bimbilla, Yendi, Binkpurugu Yunyoo and Tamale Central.

These constituencies are among the hotspots identified in the region.

–

By: Mohammed Aminu M. Alabira/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post NCCE schools political parties on election violence appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.