The Electoral Commission of Kenya was under duress to announce the results of last year's General Election, the Kriegler commission has heard.

Commissioner Jack Tumwa said that some foreign observers had "pitched tent" at the ECK offices and were applying pressure on Chairman Samuel Kivuitu to release the results.

He said that although he did not know what was being discussed, the commissioners were "a little uncomfortable with the action."

"I am not privy to whatever was discussed between them and the chairman, but I believe that by pitching tent on that floor it seemed as if perhaps they were pushing the chairman towards certain directions."

He did not, however, reveal the identity of those observers.

But he singled out observers from the European Union for publicly questioning the accuracy of the election results right after they were announced.

"The action of the EU team issuing a press statement at that time was, in my humble submission, insensitive," he said.

He added: "That statement contributed or added fuel to the burning fire at that time."

At least 1,000 people were killed and 350,000 others displaced following the disputed presidential election.

While making his submissions, Mr Tumwa said that ECK made no efforts to ensure that agents from some political parties were present during the tallying process, something he was criticised for by Vice Chair Justice Imani Aboud Daud.

"I accept that perhaps efforts should have been made to confirm that the agents were there...perhaps with so many things happening we did not give it that vital position," he said.

He went on: "I admit that it is something that needs to be looked at in the future."

Justice Imani said that this oversight undermined the integrity of the election and faulted Mr Tumwa for the poor manner in which election materials were procured.

She stated that ballot papers were delivered late, and equipment such as laptops were not used due to inadequate computer training.

"Those are the things that you need to admit," she said, instead of "giving testimony that there were no omissions."

Horacio Boneo, another member of the Kriegler Commission, criticised Mr Tumwa for lack of computer training for ECK staff.

He said that even though the elections body ordered computers in June 2007, they did not follow their own internal recruitment guidelines when they failed to recruit staff with basic Information Technology training.

Mr Tumwa was also pressed by Mr Cecil Miller, an assisting counsel for the Kriegler Commission, to explain why entries of the Presidential vote tally were still being made long after the results had been announced.

"Is it not strange that as of January 9, entries were still being made on the relevant documents on the Presidential result?"

Mr Tumwa however refused to comment on the issue, saying the tallying process ended after the results were announced by Mr Kivuitu.

"If there were entries that were made after the results had been announced, this is indeed very wrong and very irregular," he said.

But Mr Tumwa said that he, along with the rest of ECK, is ultimately responsible for mistakes made by the electoral body. Throughout the meeting, he stated several times that human beings and organisations are imperfect, and that errors are always likely to be made.

He took issue with suggestions that ECK should be disbanded over its performance. But Justice Johann Kriegler, who heads the committee investigating the disputed poll, interrupted the discussion, telling lawyers that "it doesn't help us if you ask him...I would think he has a slight bias."