A tense Kenya awaits results of a crucial election

On Friday, the head ofKenya's electoral commission acknowledged that the process of calculating the presidential election results was going too slowly after national broadcasters abruptly stopped releasing provisional results.

Provisional results indicate a close contest between frontrunners William Ruto and Raila Odinga, but disputes over earlier presidential ballots have been followed by deadly violence, fueling unease.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission is under pressure to conduct a fair election and make the results public by August 16 after the Supreme Court invalidated the 2017 presidential election due to irregularities and poor administration by the commission.

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Wafula Chebukati, the head of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, accused political party agents of slowing down the exercise by interrogating election workers with pointless questions as the laborious process of verifying and tallying ballots entered its fourth day.

"We have noticed that our pace is slower than it should be. The drill must be finished as soon as possible, according to Chebukati.

"The agents in this exercise cannot conduct themselves as though we are conducting a forensic audit.

"Please don't interrogate the... officers and slow down the process. If we do that, we will not be able to finish this exercise," he warned.

The IEBC has uploaded forms to its website displaying the results from each polling place in an effort to be transparent, making it possible for Kenyan television outlets to calculate their totals.

With around a million votes still to be cast, the broadcasters abruptly halted tallying on Thursday without providing an explanation.

Chebukati urged Kenyans not to be alarmed by the various channels' varying predictions of the results, stating that the IEBC would reveal the results as soon as feasible.

Disinformation about the results has already flooded social media, and civil society organisations and NGOs working for human rights have accused both campaigns of spreading false information.

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A great deal of anxiety

But several Kenyans said they were growing impatient to learn who would be their new leader because the wait might go into the weekend.

Christopher Mesa, a pastor at theAfrica Gospel Church in the lakeside city, said there was "a lot of anxiety about the results" among his congregation, and the conflicting results on television only served to confuse people.

"By not showing the results, it calms the people. That was bringing emotions up and down," he said.

The IEBC has received praise from international observers for streamlining its processes compared to prior elections, notably those from the United States, the European Union, and the African Union.

However, voter turnout was lower than in past elections, and numerous Kenyans expressed a desire to move on and return to their regular lives.

Since 2002, no presidential election result in Kenya has been uncontested, and the conflicts have in the past resulted in bloodshed due to either ethnic confrontations or police violence.

On Tuesday, Kenyans cast their ballots in six different elections, electing a new president as well as senators, governors, legislators, women representatives, and over 1,500 county leaders.

(With inputs from agencies)