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2 dead as Kenyan police attack electoral reform demos

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Opposition supporters flee from riot police during a protest in Kibera Slums, Nairobi, Kenya Monday, May 23, 2016. The protests, held every Monday for the past four weeks, come before elections next year and are organized by Kenya\'s main opposition group the Coalitions for Reforms and Democracy. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)

NAIROBI, Kenya – At least two people died Monday when Kenya’s police shot, beat and tear gassed demonstrators across the country who called for the electoral commission to be dissolved due to allegations of bias and corruption.

The two were shot dead in Siaya County, in western Kenya on the shore of Lake Victoria, according to Bonny Odinga, the county’s communications director.

The protests, held each Monday for the past four weeks, come before elections next year and are organized by Kenya’s main opposition group, the Coalitions for Reforms and Democracy. Last week the U.S. and human rights activists condemned the violence displayed by Kenyan police in which one man was killed.

Police Inspector General Joseph Boinnet said he would not permit the demonstrations because the opposition group did not notify police of their intent. The organization says the right to picket is constitutionally guaranteed. Senator James Orengo, a protest organizer, said the opposition notified police of the alleged intent of government allied legislators to hire goons to disrupt the protests.

In the capital, Nairobi, police tear-gassed demonstrators in the Kibera area, who were trying to make their way to the city centre where electoral commission offices are. Demonstrators responded by throwing stones. In the central business district The Associated Press reporters said police were tear gassing gatherings of five people or more covering the area in noxious smoke.

Police also tear-gassed demonstrators in opposition strongholds in Mombasa and Kisumu, Kenya’s second and third largest cities. Opposition Senator Boni Khalwale was arrested leading protests in the town of Kakamega.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Chairman Isaack Hassan said the commission will not be disbanded and challenged the opposition to provide evidence of the alleged corruption and bias.

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The story was corrected to show the electoral commission chairman’s first name is spelled Isaack, not Isaak.

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