“We decided to use the law to go to the Supreme Court (…) to show that it was not an election but a joke“This election constitutes a fifth defeat in a presidential poll for Mr Odinga, even though his candidacy has been supported this year by incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta and the ruling party.
We do this to defend democracy and our country.
Raila Odinga, who came second in the presidential election in Kenya.
Any motion to challenge must be filed by Monday August 22 with the Supreme Court, which then has 14 days to render its decision. If it orders the annulment, a new ballot must be organized within 60 days. “We do this to defend democracy and our country“, said Mr Odinga.
Contested results within the Electoral Commission itself
Last Monday, following six days of interminable waiting for the 50 million Kenyans, the chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEBC), an independent body that appeared deeply divided, announced the victory of William Ruto with 50.49% of the vote once morest 48 85% for Raila Odinga. Mr. Odinga rejected those results on Tuesday.
Monday evening, to everyone’s surprise, four of the seven commissioners of the IEBC had rejected the results a few minutes before their announcement, accusing Wafula Chebukati, the president of the IEBC, of his “opaque” management and his lack of consultation.
A country accustomed to post-election tensions
No presidential election has been free from contestation in Kenya since 2002 and disputes have sometimes led to bloody clashes. The followingmath of this year’s poll has been closely watched, seen as a test of democratic maturity in this country has the strongest economy in East Africa.
In August 2017, the Supreme Court annulled the presidential election following the victory of then President Uhuru Kenyatta was rejected by Raila Odinga. Dozens of people had been killed by police in protests.
In 2007, an election also very tight, Raila Odinga had also, without going to court, refused the result. A choice that had triggered the worst post-election crisis in the country’s history, with more than 1,100 dead in interethnic clashes.
