In photos: Anxiety, nail-biting and sleepless nights at Bomas of Kenya

Chief agents compare results of Forms 34A at the main tallying centre at Bomas of Kenya. [Courtesy Twitter]

Who will be the fifth President of the Republic of Kenya? This is the question all Kenyans are waiting for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to answer after they voted on Tuesday, August 9.

Focus has now shifted to the Bomas of Kenya, the national tallying centre where 290 constituency returning officers (CROs) are physically submitting form 34A and form 34B for verification. The anxiety, tension and nail-biting at the national tallying centre is visible. The Standard photographer captured the mood in photos.

The IEBC has accredited over 4,000 local and international journalists. Media houses have also pitched camp at the Bomas of Kenya, IEBC's national tallying Centre where final presidential results will be announced. As Kenyans wait for the official results, media houses are publishing preliminary results based on forms 34A and 34B that have been uploaded on the IEBC portal.

Political party agents are also at the Bomas of Kenya to monitor the verification process and witness IEBC officials announce results. The first verified result was from Webuye East Constituency, Bungoma County and was announced on the evening of Thursday August 11 by the IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati, more than 48 hours after the polls closed.

The waiting will be long as Kenyans wait for the IEBC to verify results from all the 290 constituencies. IEBC Commissioner Abdi Guliye said the verification process is in four steps - preliminary check to confirm forms have been stamped, signed and data captured correctly, coordination to check for errors and if the physical form matches what was uploaded on the portal, administrative check is to ensure step one and two was done properly and quality assurance.

During the August 9 poll, at least 14.1 million Kenyans voted which translated to a voter turnout of 65.4 percent. The winner of the presidential race will need 50 percent plus one vote, and at least a quarter of the votes in 24 of the 47 counties. According to the preliminary vote tally by the media, Raila Odinga and William Ruto are neck and neck. If neither of the candidates gets 50 + 1 percent, a run-off will be held in 30 days of the original election.

IEBC has allowed presidential agents to witness the verification process. After the four-step process, Chebukati, the presidential election returning officer will create form 34C where all the results of all candidates are entered, announced and a winner declared. The Commission Chairman was non-comitial on when he will announce the winner. He said the law allows them seven days. Meanwhile, Kenyans will have to wait patiently to know who the next president of Kenya will be.

Photos by Elvis Ogina