IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati on Thursday said voting had failed to take off in Kisumu, Migori, Siaya and Homa Bay due to protests staged by supporters of the National Super Alliance (Nasa).
Kenya's electoral commission, IEBC, has put off repeat presidential poll in four counties in the opposition strongholds in western Kenya citing security challenges.
IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati on Thursday said voting had failed to take off in Kisumu, Migori, Siaya and Homa Bay due to protests staged by supporters of the National Super Alliance (Nasa).
The repeat poll, Mr Chebukati said, will now be held on Saturday October 28 once security agencies restore order.
“Security is not in the hands of the commission. We were promised security by the Inspector-General of the Police and the government agencies and once we get feedback from them we shall be able to see how we can manage the movement of materials and the security of our officers in the affected counties,” said Mr Chebukati.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga boycotted the election re-run and urged his supporters to stay at home.
Police clashed with opposition protesters who tried to block the vote.
The Elections Act and the regulations allow the IEBC to postpone an election if it believes that a serious breach of the peace is likely to occur if it is held, if it is impossible because of a natural disaster or an emergency and if there has been an electoral malpractice so big that the election cannot proceed.
Mr Chebukati said that in eastern Kitui County, where some election materials were ruined after the bus ferrying them was swept away by floods, the situation was resolved and voting later continued.
