Supporters of Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta attend a campaign rally at the Afraha Stadium in Nakuru, northwest Kenya, Aug. 5, 2017. Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta and his rival from National Super Alliance (NASA), Raila Odinga, on Saturday concluded their campaigns for votes by holding major rallies ahead of the Aug. 8 polls that are expected to be hotly contested. (Xinhua/Fred Mutune)
ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has deployed an Election Observer Mission to Kenya to observe the presidential, governors and parliamentary elections scheduled to be held on August 8, according to an IGAD statement on Monday.
Stating its experience of observing elections in the region since 2010, the statement said, after every election observation, IGAD reports to its member states so that every country benefits from the different experiences of conducting elections.
Led by Tewolde Gebremeskel, Director of the Peace and Security Division of IGAD, the IGAD Observer Mission is composed of participants from IGAD Secretariat from different member states.
Since their arrival in Nairobi on Aug. 3, the head and other members of the Observer Mission had paid courtesy visit to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), and were received by the Chair and other officials of the Commission.
The IGAD Observers had also met with the Principal Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kenya.
Raila Odinga (front, R), National Super Alliance (NASA) presidential flag bearer, attends the major campaign rally at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Aug. 5, 2017. Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta and his rival from National Super Alliance (NASA), Raila Odinga, on Saturday concluded their campaigns for votes by holding major rallies ahead of the Aug. 8 polls that are expected to be hotly contested. (Xinhua/Nyalwash)
They also attended a briefing organized by the IEBC whereby the commission announced to the public IEBC's readiness to conduct the election and provided updates to the public on various aspects of the election including logistics and security.
The IGAD Observer Mission also held a meeting where the members have been briefed about the overall security and political situation of the country, as well as the Kenyan Election laws and overall observation details of the mission.
The mission will continue to interact with other observers throughout its presence in Kenya, said the statement.
The observers will closely observe the poll opening, polling, poll closing and counting and tallying stages of the election process to take place on the Elections Day, it said.
IGAD is composed of member states consisting of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda.
IGAD works to harmonize policies of member states in areas of peace and security, economic integration, agriculture and environment, and social development, said the statement.
Africa's largest trading bloc on Sunday also expressed optimism that Kenya's Aug. 8 polls will be peaceful.
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Election Observation Team poses for a group photo in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Aug. 4, 2017. Africa's largest trading bloc on Sunday expressed optimism that Kenya's Aug. 8 polls will be peaceful. COMESA said that all the players in the presidential contest have pledged to urge their supporters to maintain peace. (Xinhua/Charles Onyango)
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) said all the players in the presidential contest have pledged to urge their supporters to maintain peace.
"We are therefore optimistic that polls will be peaceful given the commitment of all stakeholders," COMESA Election Observer Mission Head Simbi Mubako told journalists in Nairobi during the flagging off of their team to the different parts of the country.
The observation team, which has been in the country since July 30, will visit 29 counties in the country to monitor electoral activities.
Mubako said his team, which will remain in Kenya until Aug. 10, also plans to release a preliminary report on the elections.
He said that the fact that the 2013 elections were largely peaceful indicates that Kenya has matured democratically.
"Even those who disputed the electoral outcomes went to court instead of engaging in violence," he added.
The COMESA official said that Kenyans themselves have said that they will maintain peace because the 2007 post-election violence was a traumatic experience.
In addition, he noted that the presidential candidates have said openly that they will accept the outcome of the election.
Mubako, who once served as Zimbabwe's minister of justice, noted that Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has prepared adequately to conduct transparent, free and fair elections.
"The organization of the election process is much better as compared to the 2013 general elections," the COMESA official said.
