afrol News, 17 January - The Commonwealth observer mission has released its final report, blaming Kenya's electoral commission for woefully failing to succeed in "establishing the integrity of the tallying process, thereby bringing the validity of the election results into question," despite "the many positive aspects of the pre-election and polling day procedures."

In a nutshell, the Commonwealth Secretary General, Don McKinnon, said the "process after the close of polling did not meet international standards."

Kenya's chief electoral commissioner expressed doubts as to whether President Kibaki had won the polls, despite declaring him the winner.

“We were deeply saddened and troubled by the appalling incidents of violence in the wake of the elections, and the large-scale loss of life and displacement of people which followed," McKinnon said, underlining the importance of ensuring that the "integrity of the entire process is beyond question, and it shows the consequences when that confidence is perceived as lacking."

Commonwealth chief said it is vital for the parties to come together to find a resolution to "this grave problem."

He said he had spoken to both President Kibaki and the ODM leader, Raila Odinga, registering his distress about the violence and loss of life.

McKinnon encouraged both parties to seek dialogue and that the Commonwealth remains fully engaged and will support on-going mediation efforts.

The Commonwealth faulted Kenya's electoral commission for its improper handling of the results.

However, the Secretary General said "it is vital that the national election management body enjoys the full confidence of all political contestants, and that it is transparent and accountable in its duties.

"The Commonwealth stands ready to work with Kenya to look at ways of re-constituting the Electoral Commission of Kenya along the lines of Commonwealth best practice, to ensure that political and public confidence in the body can be restored."

The former Sierra Leonean President, Ahmed Tejan Kabbah who headed the Commonwealth mission to Kenya, presented the report to McKinnon.

Meanwhile, the second day of Kenya's mass protests against the controversial polls continued on Thursday, with Raila Odinga disclosing that the police have shot dead seven people in the capital Nairobi.

Four people died at the start of the protests on Wednesday. Bloody violence has been reported in many parts of the country, with police firing shots to disperse protesters some of who were busy blocking roads and burning tyres.

The post-electoral violence has claimed the lives of over 600 people as well as displaced over 250,000.

Mr Odinga described sanctions as another way of forcing President Kibaki to accept a peaceful resolution to the unrest.

Besides, European parliament backed a resolution, asking the EU to suspend its aid to Kenyan government. The bloc is expected to shower Kenya with a five-year aid amounting to €400.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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