Observer Groups Praise Kenya Polls, Urge Transparency and Peace

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nairobi....The Observer Missions of the African Union, the Carter Center, the Commonwealth, the European Union, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, East African Community, International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa to the 2013 Kenya Elections headed by His Excellency Joaquim Chissano, His Excellency Rupiah Banda, His Excellency Festus Mogae, Mr. Alojz Peterle, Amb. Simbi Veke Mubako, Amb. Dr. Berhane Ghebray, Hon. Abdulrahman Kinana and Mr. Vincent Tohbi, respectively, have observed the voting and counting process across the country.

We are pleased that the voting and counting took place in a peaceful and transparent atmosphere and that the people of Kenya demonstrated strong commitment to their democratic process by turning out in significant numbers to cast their votes.

We call on all stakeholders of the Kenya electoral process to ensure that this peace and transparency continues to inform the remainder of the process. We further call on political party leaders to encourage their supporters to conduct themselves with the highest responsibility.

We urge all electoral stakeholders to respect the official election results that will be announced by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) with calmness and in full respect of the Constitution of Kenya and the democratic process. In this regard, we appeal to all political parties and candidates that have concerns to follow the legal process laid down in the Constitution and the Electoral Code for the resolution of any disputes related to the electoral process. A special responsibility lies with the political leaders of Kenya to continue to abide by their pre-election commitments to peace.