Kenya politician challenges validity of Kenyatta's controversial presidential re-run

06 Novembre 2017

Nairobi, Kenya,  November 6 (Infosplusgabon) -  The Supreme Court in Kenya has been called again to invalidate the election of President Uhuru Kenyatta on the grounds that the 26 October presidential rerun was held in violation of the constitution.

Kenyan politician and business executive, Haroun Mwau, filed a Supreme Court petition on Monday, seeking a declaration the election was held against the laws and should be nullified.

The petitioner wants the Supreme Court to declare the election was conducted in total violation of the constitution and the relevant laws governing the conduct of elections in Kenya.

Mwau, who ran for the presidency in 1992, 1997 and 2002, has also challenged the decision by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to nominate other candidates contrary to section 137 of the constitution.

According to the petition, the IEBC erred when it failed to conduct fresh nominations for the 2017 presidential election after the Court nullified the 8 August poll.

President Kenyatta was declared winner of the 26 October presidential rerun after the opposition leader Raila Odinga withdrew his candidacy from the race, citing failure by the IEBC to carry out reforms to make the vote transparent and credible.

Foreign and local observers have failed to approve the vote as transparent or credible, saying it lacked credibility.

The election was not conducted in 25 constituencies and at least 117 constituencies were reported to have voter turnout of 20% or less.

The IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati announced the election was conducted in full in some 50 constituencies out of 290 constituencies.

Mwau's case was filed way before the IEBC declared Kenyatta the winner of the elections.

The petitioner has challenged the IEBC for leaving the name of one presidential candidate Cyrus Jirongo from the list of candidates when it gazetted the names of candidates.

The petitioner also claims no election should have taken place after the Supreme Court nullification of the 8 August poll until fresh nominations were conducted because the nomination conducted before the August vote ended when a winner was declared.

President Kenyatta was declared winner with abiut 38% of registered voters in which he scored 98.26% of the vote.

The Supreme Court petition may delay the swearing in of President Kenyatta which is scheduled for 28 November.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule within 14 days on whether the elections are valid and held in accordance with the law.

According to the 2013 Supreme Court decision, an election should stand adjourned if a presidential candidate who scored the second highest number of votes quits the election race.

However, the constitution talks about an election being abandoned only if a candidate dies before the election.

Odinga withdrew citing the 2013 ruling which talks about a candidate abandoning the quest for election.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/NOI/GABON 2017

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