Former US Secretary of State John Kerry, the co-leader of
the Carter Centre's election monitoring team in Kenya, has paid tribute to
slain IEBC official Christopher Msando.
“We all wish to honour Mr Msando’s dedication to transparent
elections,” Mr Kerry said.
“Security for the elections and all election administrators
throughout the electoral process is paramount for the conduct of credible and
democratic elections. We hope that his death will not have a chilling effect on
voters and electoral authorities,” Mr Kerry added.
The Carter Centre has condemned attacks on IEBC.
“Attacks on the IEBC and other independent institutions,
whether verbal or physical, remain an unacceptable form of public discourse,”
the Centre said in a statement.
“The Centre further
implores politicians to refrain from politicising this event,” the statement
added in regard to Mr Msando's murder.
The monitoring group founded by former US President Jimmy
Carter also called for “an independent and comprehensive investigation” into
the death of the IEBC's ICT manager.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission should
proceed with a scheduled nationwide test on Wednesday of the vote-transmission
system known as Kiems, the Centre suggested.
“The success of Kiems
remains an essential step toward increasing stakeholder confidence in the
election,” the Carter Centre said.
In a pre-election report issued last week, the US election
monitoring group generally praised the IEBC's performance, while also pointing
to commissioners' “inadequate communication with stakeholders and insufficient
transparency regarding their decision-making.”
In its statement on Tuesday, the Carter Centre said its
technical experts had “enjoyed a productive relationship with Mr Msando and are
personally saddened by the loss.”
Mr Kerry and monitoring group co-leader Aminata Touré, a
former prime minister of Senegal, are due to arrive in Kenya this week to
oversee a delegation of 80 vote monitors.
