Kenya's electoral commissioner, Mr Samuel Kivuitu, declared President Daniel arap Moi the winner of the country's controversial general election yesterday, but there were still outstanding results to be collected in nine constituencies.
Kenyans were left in little doubt that - regardless of the continued dispute over counting and voting - the necessary gazette declaring Mr Moi's victory would be published by midnight last night and that he will be sworn in today.
Prisoners are already busy clearing the grass and rubbish from Nairobi's central Uhuru Park and stripping down old campaign posters, as security officials organise rows of red-and-gold upholstered chairs for visiting dignitaries.
At least one head of state - President Benjamin Mpaka of Tanzania - had arrived in Nairobi by yesterday afternoon. President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda is expected to arrive this morning.
Any further voting in Kenya has been declared illegal and counting was expected to be completed by midnight last night, so that Mr Moi's victory could be officially published. Although ballot boxes in some counting halls remain under siege, and, in some isolated areas, never even left the airstrip or the police stations where they were being held, Mr Kivuitu made it clear that the election was over.
Local newspapers report a continuing election disaster in the isolated and flood-hit North-Eastern Province. Ballot boxes for three constituencies in its regional capital, Garissa, have remained uncollected by military helicopters since polling started last Monday, and some 500 election officials remain stranded at their various polling stations.
In Tana River District, two deputy presiding officers were drowned in the flood-swollen river and election results swept away. These areas are also hit by a fatal but unidentified haemorrhagic fever, which has killed hundreds of people and led to many fleeing the area.
Mr Kivuitu conceded that two polling stations in these areas had failed to vote, but said: "These votes will not make any difference to the result."
The electoral commissioner did not officially announce parliamentary results, but those published so far show the ruling party, Kanu, having a slim majority over the combined opposition.
Mr Kivuitu had no good news for those alleging irregularities in the chaotic week of polling and counting, saying the Electoral Commission had no power to nullify or dispute the process.
Quipping that "the law is an ass", he said election disputes could only now be dealt with through the law courts - and admitted that election petitions typically took years to be processed. He said the commission had received hundreds of complaints.
Throughout the course of the week, Mr Kivuitu has revealed just how toothless Kenyan law is when it comes to the electoral process. "This area should be revisited when constitutional reform is discussed," he said.
Popular pressure for constitutional reform continues, and the contentious election ritual is going to be one of the most vivid examples of why comprehensive reform is needed.
Two opposition leaders, Mr Mwai Kibaki and Mr Raila Odinga, who last week said they would not accept the victory, have remained silent. Mr Kibaki held 1.9 million votes to President Moi's 2.4 million.
Critics of Kenya's chaotic elections intend to use a disputed result from a key Nairobi constituency as a test case for fair play and democracy. The Democratic Party's Ms Betty Tett, defeated candidate in the Westlands parliamentary constituency, says she is taking her case to court after election officials refused to recount the vote.