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Former President Uhuru Kenyatta, the head of the African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) has sent an appeal to South Africans voters on election results delay.

While addressing the media on Thursday, May 30, 2024, at the Results Operation Centre at Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, Uhuru confirmed significant delays experienced in tabulating the results.

Uhuru express optimism

However, Uhuru expressed optimism that the South African electoral commission will solve the hitches affecting results tabulations. At the same time, Kenya’s former President praised the electorates for exercising patience during the delay.

“Kenyatta expressed gratitude to the people of South Africa for their patience during the significant delays experienced in the process. He praised their resilience and called for more patience while expressing confidence in the electoral commission’s ability to address and resolve the issues going forward,” part of the statement shared by the Office of the 4th President of Kenya read.

He reiterated his firm belief in trusting the electoral process and remaining calm even amidst delays.

His Excellency President (Rtd) Uhuru Kenyatta, the head of the African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM), attended a briefing on the progress of results from the recently concluded IEC General Elections at the Results Operation Centre at Gallagher Convention Centre in… pic.twitter.com/yYJvoPRy7C

— Office of the 4th President of Kenya. (@4thPresidentKE) May 30, 2024

Uhuru’s past engagements

Uhuru has been monitoring every step of the polls and meeting with key individuals involved in the electoral process to ensure fair and credible polls.

On Thursday, May 30, 2024, Uhuru visited various polling stations accompanied by other international observers.

“President (Rtd) Uhuru Kenyatta, the head of the African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM), joined other international observers at polling stations as South Africa’s General Elections commenced this morning. This election is a significant milestone in South Africa’s democratic journey, with a record 27.79 million registered voters, the highest number since the end of apartheid,” the Office of the 4th President of Kenya reported.

Before that on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, Uhuru led a pre-election debriefing and participated in a peer exchange session with the heads of International Electoral Observation Missions (IEOMs).

Uhuru outlined the mission’s structure, which includes 65 observers from 26 African countries, encompassing members from the AU Permanent Representative Council, the Pan African Parliament (PAP), election management boards, civil society organizations, think tanks, women’s and youth groups, and various technical teams.

Partial vote count

According to the partial vote count, the long-ruling African National Congress party is well below 50 per cent of the vote as the counting continued. The partial results put ANC on the brink of losing its majority for the first time since sweeping power in 1994 under the late Nelson Mandela.

However, the South African electoral body is expected to announce the official results.