NAIROBI, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) election observer mission (EOM) on Wednesday called on Kenya's electoral commission to promptly publish all results forms online to help promote confidence through transparency.
The EU observers who have been monitoring closely the on-going election process, including tallying and the petitions process also called for rule of law to be followed and space for civil society to operate freely.
"The availability of results forms at all levels enables trust by allowing all stakeholders to have confidence in and insight into the totals announced," the observer mission said in a statement issued in Nairobi.
The observers said the 34B forms from the 290 constituency tallying centers are critical, as these include a full breakdown of results by polling stations.
"Online availability of the 34B forms, as well as the remaining 34A forms (containing individual polling station results), would enable all stakeholders to examine the accuracy of the announced results and point to any possible anomalies," the mission said.
The statement comes after the Opposition has accused the electoral agency of planning to forge forms 34B by delaying to make them available. This comes after one presidential candidate said Tuesday found anomalies in the results.
But the electoral commission said about 2,900 of the 41,000 forms showing results at individual polling stations were not yet online.
President Uhuru Kenyatta was re-elected in the Aug. 8 vote but Opposition leader Raila Odinga has rejected the results saying the election was rigged. He was due to make a major announcement later Wednesday.
The EU observers said the timing of such information being made public is critical given that petitions relating to the presidential race must be filed within seven days of the results announcement, thus by the end of Friday.
"While parties at different levels of the process can in principle have access to forms through their agents, civil society and the wider public also need to be able to scrutinise and see the official basis for announced results," they said.
The EU observer mission urged any party or candidate with a grievance to provide clear evidence to substantiate their claims and also to use the prescribed legal mechanisms.
"The EU EOM will carefully look at concerns raised and at the judicial petitions processes. The EU EOM calls on all political leaders to seek only peaceful public responses," the mission said.
The observers said they were deeply disturbed by the violence and deaths that have taken place and called on the state authorities to police effectively and to bring order without increasing tensions or using live fire.
"The EU EOM calls for state security agencies to be transparent in explaining their approach to security, to provide the public with reliable information about fatalities and injuries, and to undertake investigations for full accountability of state and other actors," the missions aid.
"The mission encourages political leaders to use their authority to promote peace and to call for calm and restraint," the EU observers said and condemned the harassment of civil society organizations.
