The British government on Wednesday denied allegations made by one of Kenya's main presidential candidates Uhuru Kenyatta that it was interfering in the east African nation's electoral process.
Kenyatta had said the British High Commissioner to Kenya Christian Turner has a "shadowy sinister involved in the country's election" and is canvassing to deny him outright victory. Kenyatta who is heading the Jubilee Alliance also demanded answers from Turner over claims of an "abnormally high influx of British military personnel in the country which began around voting day."
A statement from the British Foreign Office spokesman received in Nairobi clarified that British soldiers are currently in Kenya as part of the regular training program at British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) agreed with the Kenya's ministry of defense.
"This routine exercise is completely unrelated to the Kenyan elections, and was planned nine months ago," according to the statement issued in Nairobi.
"The British High Commissioner, in cahoots with one Maina Kiai have been canvassing to have rejected votes tallied in an attempt to deny the Jubilee Coalition outright victory as indeed all indicators are showing at the moment," Kenyatta said.
The number of rejected ballots which the IEBC said were 284,000 is becoming a critical issue to the outcome of the Monday polls and technical arguments on whether they should be included in final tallies is the talk within the legal circles in the country.
Kenyatta said the British envoy should accept that Kenyans have spoken and that their sovereign will should be respected, adding Turner's role should be strictly limited to that of observer.
Millions of Kenyans went to the polling stations on Monday in the first presidential elections since the 2007 elections when rage over President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election killed more than 1,200 people, injured 3,500 and forcibly displaced up to 650, 000 others.
Kenyans who massively turned out for the historic general elections are anxiously awaiting final results of a hotly contested election whose final presidential results may be announced later this week.
The British Foreign Office spokesman dismissed the allegations saying, claims of British interference, including by the High Commission, in the electoral process are entirely false and misleading.
"We have always said that this election is a choice for Kenyans alone to decide. We respect their sovereign will, and the authority of the IEBC and Kenyan institutions to deliver it. We do not endorse any one candidate over another," the statement said.
Alongside six Independent observer missions and representatives from the rest of the diplomatic community, Britain has 40 electoral observers accredited by the IEBC observing the elections across the country.
"The UK does not have a position on the question of how to handle the rejected votes. That is for the IEBC," the statement said.
The Foreign Office called on all sides to ensure calm, avoid inflammatory statements, and to take any disputes to the courts.
"The UK Government shares calls from the IEBC, political parties and the Kenyan people for patience and calm as the election results come in. We congratulate the Kenyan people on the spirit of peace in which the elections were conducted," it said.
