The Supreme Court of Kenya has recently explained why it dismissed two election petitions challenging the October 26 repeat election.
According to the six judges involved, there were nine issues for consideration from the two consolidated petitions.
ISSUES
One issue was whether the petitioners had the right to challenge the outcome and whether the case was a public interest litigation.
In a decision read by Justice Isaac Lenaola, the judges ruled that the petitioners had the right to sue.
They said any Kenyan is free to challenge the presidential poll.
The court also ruled that there was no need for fresh nominations for the repeat presidential election after the first poll was voided.
On September 1, the Supreme Court had annulled President Uhuru Kenyatta’s win in the August 8 election.
CANDIDATES
Justice Lenaola also said the inclusion of Mr Cyrus Jirongo in the poll was okay because the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission was guided by the law and court decisions.
“We, therefore, find no fault on the part of the commission to include Mr Jirongo in the repeat poll because they were guided by the court,” he said.
The judges said the IEBC was guided by a court order including all the parties in the repeat poll. All the presidential candidates in the August 8 election were included in the ballot in the repeat election.
VALIDITY
Although the judges agreed that the public pronouncement by Nasa candidate Raila Odinga on his withdrawal from the race on September 10 and the letter written to the IEBC was substantive and legally effective, the move could not have led to the cancellation of the repeat poll
