By Kabuye Muawiya,
KENYA
“The figures announced by Mr. Chebukati are null and void and must be quashed by a court of law. In our view, there is neither a legally and validly declared winner nor a President-Elect,” Odinga rejects Raila election
Raila Odinga has officially come out and without reservations to reject the presidential results announced yesterday by Mr. Chebukati under the Independent Election and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the body mandated by the Constitution and the law to conduct and manage elections.
On August 9, 2022, millions of Kenyans turned out in large numbers in an attempt to choose their leaders at the national, county, and local levels after long and generally peaceful campaigns and yesterday August 15, Mr. Wafula Chebukati, the Chairperson of the IEBC announced William Ruto as the newly elected President of Kenya.
The nation has been waiting for the official statement reacting on what the IEBC announced yesterday and so today afternoon Raila Odinga came out to reject the results and attacked the IEBC
“The Constitution and our laws are clear about how the IEBC should conduct its business. There is no more important role for the IEBC than the conduct, transmission, and tallying of the presidential election. We are painfully aware of past political biases by the IEBC that plunged this country into its darkest chapter. The terrible memories of the aftermath of the 2007 elections are still fresh in our minds. In 2017, the Supreme Court of Kenya nullified the presidential election again because of the misconduct of the IEBC. What we saw yesterday was a travesty and a blatant disregard of the Constitution and the laws of Kenya by Mr. Chebukati and a minority of IEBC Commissioners. The law is clear on the role of the Chairperson of the IEBC. The law does not vest in the Chairperson the powers of a dictator to rule the IEBC unilaterally,” Odinga said
The IEBC is structured as a democratic institution in which decisions must be taken either by consensus or by a vote of the majority and for Raila Odinga said that the IEBC did not act in line with the law.
“The Chairperson and a tiny minority of commissioners have no legal authority to take weighty decisions and proclaim them as the rulings of the IEBC. The law on the IEBC provides that unless an unanimous decision is reached, a decision on any matter before the commission shall be by a majority of the members present and voting. In addition, the court of appeal in the Maina Kiai case, ruled we retaliate as we conclude that there is no doubt from the architecture of the laws we have considered that the people of Kenya did not intend to vest or concentrate such sweeping and boundless powers in one individual, the chairperson of the appellants,” Odinga added.
Therefore, Odinga and the Azimio say that they were shocked yesterday to learn that Mr. Chebukati alone decided to pronounce himself on the supposed winner of the 2022 presidential elections.
“We understand that only Mr. Chebukati ALONE had access to the tally of the presidential vote. He denied all the commissioners access to that information until he suddenly appeared before the commissioners in the late afternoon to present them with a fait accompli. I understand that the commission had previously agreed on the tally of the Presidential results. But barely two hours before his announcement, Mr. Chebukati called a meeting of the IEBC and revealed to them the different results he was going to announce,” Odinga revealed.
According to him, the mishandling of the results at the last hours led to walkout by a majority of the commissioners who promptly denounced the results at a press conference.
“A majority of the commissioners walked out and held a press conference where they denounced the results. Our view in Azimio is clear. The figures announced by Mr. Chebukati are null and must be quashed by a court of law. In our view, there is neither a legally and validly declared winner nor a President-Elect. Mr. Chebukati’s announcement purporting to announce a winner is a nullity. He acted with gross impunity and in total disregard of the Constitution and our laws,” Raila said.
He furthermore appealed to Kenyans to remain clam as the party is doing its better to get back their victory.
“I want to commend our supporters for remaining calm and keeping the peace, and I urge them to continue to do so. Let no one take the law into their own hands. We are pursuing constitutional and lawful channels and processes to invalidate Mr. Chebukati’s illegal and unconstitutional pronouncement,”Odinga added.
Odinga intimidated that he is challenging the presidential election in the supreme court where he is expected to file a petition any time.
