Mathare, Makadara and the Embakasis

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Mathare, Makadara and the Embakasis

 

I made these logs on Wednesday 10 August 2022, the day after the general election, while monitoring the status of tallying in seven constituency tallying centers across Nairobi County. The following were my observations throughout the day:

 

Mathare Constituency

 

1223 hrs: At St. Teresa Girls’ High School, Mathare Constituency’s tallying center, the enumeration process is extremely slow. Not all forms 34A have been submitted from polling stations. I speak to two Presiding Officers who tell me they arrived at the tallying center at 6.00 a.m. and have been waiting in line since. They estimate that the process will still not be complete by evening.

 

Embakasi North Constituency

 

Dandora Secondary School tallying center. Photo by Kanyi Wyban/Debunk Media

 

1346 hrs: At the Dandora Secondary School tallying center, there are similar long queues of uncleared ballot boxes from polling stations. The Deputy Returning Officer informs me that they have only tallied results from 52 out of 170 polling stations. She is optimistic that the count will be complete by around 10.00 p.m. this evening, despite a slow start.

 

Embakasi Central Constituency

 

1512 hrs: In an attempt to speed up their tallying process, the Presiding Officers at the Komarock School tallying center have resolved to clear paperwork first and then sort out strategic material such as the A series forms. Only results from 74 out of 215 polling stations have been tallied so far.

Presiding Officers at the Komarock School tallying center. Photo by Kanyi Wyban/Debunk Media

 

Embakasi West Constituency

 

1547 hrs: Busara Primary School, the Embakasi West Constituency tallying center, also suffered a sluggish start to the process of tallying votes. Here, the elongated pile of ballot boxes, stacked on top of each other, towers above me.

 

Embakasi East Constituency

 

1648 hrs: Upon my arrival at the East African School of Aviation, which is Embakasi East Constituency’s tallying center, only 65 out of the 237 polling stations have been cleared by the Returning Officer. A Presiding Officer tells me he has barely eaten for three days now, and he badly needs a shower.

 

Embakasi South Constituency

 

1812 hrs: Out of 214 polling stations, only results from 48 polling stations have been tallied at the Mukuru Community Center Primary School tallying center. Speaking with four Presiding Officers, they all predict they will need another 24 hours, at best, to get the job done.

Mukuru Community Center Primary School tallying center. Photo by Kanyi Wyban/Debunk Media

 

Makadara Constituency

 

1905 hrs: I arrive at the Aquinas High School tallying center just after dark. Tallying is still ongoing. The Returning Officer has only ratified 37 out of 137 polling stations. Most of the Presiding Officers I talk to blame the late submission of material from certain polling stations for slowing down the entire process.

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