Kenya announces new primaries after election chaos

April 22 (UPI) — Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta apologized Saturday for not being prepared for the massive voter turnout that forced the closure of election primaries throughout the country.

Kenyatta said the Jubilee Party will hold new nominations on Monday and Tuesday. Leaders did not anticipate so many people to turn out so voting materials were not available, he said. That led to skirmishes throughout the country when contestants accused their opponents of rigging the election. Kenyatta expected a turn out of about 25 percent but more than 70 percent of voters turned out.

“Primaries usually do not experience the kind of large turn out that we saw yesterday (Friday) and that is where we had a level of under preparedness.” he said.

Of the 21 counties where nominations were scheduled to take place, only a few were carried out. The primaries are being held in advance of a national election in August, when a new president will be elected.

Nearly a decade ago, some 1,000 people died in the country in violent election-result disputes. The most recent election, in 2013, was peaceful.

I urge party members to keep the faith. We assure you that Jubilee will deliver on its promise for a transparent, fair, and credible Primary pic.twitter.com/DBTL2O9RmU— President of Kenya (@PresidentKE) April 22, 2017

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