NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug, 22 – Azimio La Umoja -One Kenya Alliance presidential candidate Raila Odinga Monday filed a petition at the country’s Apex court, the Supreme Court, challenging the outcome of the August, 9, presidential results.
Odinga through his lawyers has promised ‘a mother of all legal battles’ in the quest for justice. The veteran politician alongside his team presented physical copies of the petition in court as his legal team says that they had also filed an online copy earlier in the day.
It is alleged that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) failed to tally at least 140,000 votes and as such UDA’s William Ruto who was declared president-elect did not meet the threshold required by the law of 50 per cent plus one of the valid votes cast to be declared the victor.
If the case is declared in favour of the Odinga-led team in 14 days then the country will have to brace itself for a repeat poll in 60 days.
“The action we have taken is perfectly in line with the stipulations of our constitution on resolving electoral disputes. It affirms our deep belief in constitutionalism, rule of law, and a peaceful resolution of disputes including high sake ones like the presidential elections,”
“We have been shocked that as we prepare to go to court, others tried to stop us. Kenyans and all of us who followed our campaign will recall that fighting and ending corruption in Kenya was our core agenda throughout our campaigns as Azimio La umoja -One Kenya Coalition party,” said Odinga.
The veteran politician said that the presidential elections represented the country’s continued struggle in the fight against corruption while striving to preserve our democratic values.
“The presidential election results announced last week, represent that continued struggle pitting the forces for democracy and good governance against the corruption cartels that are so determined that they will stop at nothing to take control of the government and this country,”
He further said that the legal petition was a ‘do or die battle against corruption cartels who have everything to lose.
“The corruption cartels are prepared to compromise electoral systems, bribe electoral officials, make security systems look the other way, or even kill in order to find their way to power and their ill-gotten wealth and continue stealing from the public. We believe this is what happened in this election. For the sake of Kenya’s future, the corruption network must not only be stopped it must also be crashed,” said Odinga.
Attempts by such individuals to take over the country is not new according to Odinga who further accused them of even financing corrupt leaders who will ultimately serve them and protect their interest.
The former premier said that the cartels have steadily been manipulating electoral systems and suppressing the participation of voters who support rival political formations
“Their activities that make it clear voters and their votes do not matter,, they have progressively reduced voter turn out in Kenya. At times the cartels have triggered intense conflict between security forces and themselves as they strive to compromise elections. Slowly but steadily, these forces are killing our hardwood democracy and are trying to return Kenya to a one-party state in their own interest,”
Azimo La Umoja One Kenya Alliance has accused their rivals of ‘buying’ elected leaders in the last one week at various levels in order to ‘kill’ democracy at lower levels of governance.
“The corruption cartels know there are multiple benefits for them if they take over. Their members dealing in illegal drugs will thrive through greater use in the transportation and distribution of drugs throughout the country. They will access intelligence information for more corruption. They will gain protection from the police, their leaders, and their legal activities. They will institute weaker or no restrictions at all for the money laundering and ensure nobody else but them thrives,”
“This potential array of favours for the cartels makes the capturing of government a profitable do-or-die venture for them but it marks the beginning of the end of Kenya s we know it today. No nation once captured by cartels whether corruption, drugs, gun-running, terror cartels, ever thrived or realized its true potential,”
He further said that the 2022 presidential elections represented the most daring move by cartels to overturn the wishes of the electorate.
Transparent V Opaque
The rift between commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) appears to be getting wider and wider after the poll body’s chairperson Wafula Chebukati differed with four commissioners on the outcome of the presidential elections that saw United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate William Ruto declared president-Elect.
IEBC vice chairperson Juliana Cherera, alongside commissioner, Justus Nyang’aya, Francis Wanderi, and Irene Masit distanced themselves from the concluded presidential elections saying that they can not take ownership of the outcome.
In a statement read by Cherera on behalf of the other commissioners at Serena hotel they termed the process as ‘opaque in nature’.
“As you can see the four of us are here and not the Bomas of Kenya where the results are going to be announced because of the opaque nature of how this phase has been handled, we, therefore, can not take ownership of the results that are going to be announced,” she said.
The poll body’s chairperson Chebukati however maintains that the ‘rift’ is a result of the four dissenting commissioners wanting to ‘force’ a re-run of the elections.
“However, during a briefing meeting held on 15th August 2022 at around 3.00 pm before the final declaration of the Presidential Election results, the four Commissioners i.e. Juliana Cherera, Francis Wanderi, Justus Nyang’aya, and Irene Masit demanded that the Chairperson moderates the results for purpose of forcing an election Re-run contrary to their oath of office. This is tantamount to subverting the Constitution and the sovereign will of the People of Kenya,” said Chebukati.
He further said that he involved all the commissioners in all the activities of verification and tallying.
“The Chairperson refused to yield to this unconstitutional and illegal demand and proceeded to declare the results of the Presidential Election as received from the polling stations, and contained in Form 34A, in accordance with the law,”
Chebukati said that the August 9 polls were Kenya’s most transparent elections since independence.
He cited availing of all result Form 34As that were uploaded in real-time on the public portal, the delivery of original Form 34As to the National Returning Officer for tallying and verification by the 290 Constituency Returning Officers and one Diaspora Returning Officer as some of the reasons the exercise was transparent and fairly successful.
Also, agents of all Presidential candidates are said to have participated in an elaborate verification process as Form 34C which contains the final tallies of all the 46,229 Form 34A from polling stations was also uploaded on the public portal for access.
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