Five ballot boxes were delivered without seals to the Kilifi North tallying center on Wednesday morning, raising credibility concerns.
The Presiding Officer delivered the boxes from the Bofa Primary Polling Centre at 1.40 am, with only the presidential ballot box sealed.
When the Presiding Officer attempted to seal the boxes at the tallying center, members of the public expressed their concern.
The officer stated that she did not seal them because it was raining and the roof of the classroom used as a polling station was leaking.
“I have not tampered with the results. All the agents signed all the forms and witnessed everything,” said the presiding officer.
Election laws require presiding officers to seal all ballot boxes with tamper-proof clips after voting closes, or they will be charged with an electoral offense.
The situation created tension at the tallying center, prompting two governor candidates to rush there.
Gideon Mung’aro of the ODM and George Kithi of the Pamoja African Alliance Party have said that they will not accept the results until the matter is resolved.
Khamis Tsumo, returning officer for Kilifi North, urged candidates to give him time to seek clarification from the presiding officer.
The candidates also asked for a recount to see if the votes matched the results on Form 34A.
The presiding officer, however, was unable to produce the form, claiming she had placed it in the sealed presidential ballot box.
One improperly sealed ballot box was brought by another returning officer from the Korosho primary school tallying station.
The ballot box for governor only had three seals, with three others missing.
The presiding officer explained that she had failed to seal the box because the seals were insufficient.
