By Spy Uganda
The East African Community (EAC) has deployed 15 election observation teams to observe Kenya’s general election set for Tuesday, August 9.
Flagging off the teams from the EAC-election observation mission headquarters in Nairobi, on Saturday, August 6, the head of the regional bloc’s election observer mission, former Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, said that the observers had undergone training over the past five days to enable them undertake their responsibilities as international observers and as EAC observers.
Kikwete disclosed that the 52-strong EAC observer mission drawn from the EAC partner states and the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) was deployed in 15 teams that will cover various counties in all the regions across Kenya.
Kenyans are due to vote on August 9 in a high-stakes election that pits Deputy President William Ruto against Raila Odinga, the veteran head of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement. Ruto will be trying for the top office for the first time.
President Uhuru Kenyatta who is serving his second and last term has backed the candidacy of his own long-time rival Odinga, at the expense of his own deputy for two years.
The main task for the observers will be; to observe ongoing electoral campaigns; observe polling processes on the polling day including results management at the polling stations; and to observe tallying, announcement and declaration of results.
The mission will then prepare a preliminary report on what it observed during the electoral process. Their preliminary report will be released on Thursday, August 11.
