President Uhuru Kenyatta
Kenya’s Supreme Court in Kenya on Friday made history in Africa by declaring the results of last month’s presidential poll in that country “invalid, null and void” and ordered the election be re-run within 60 days. This is the first time a Presidential election has been annulled by the supreme court of any country in Africa.
“The presidential election held on August 8 was not conducted in accordance with the constitution,” said Chief Justice David Maraga, ruling in favour of the opposition which challenged the declaration of President Uhuru Kenyatta as the winner.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga
Chief Justice Maraga said this was a majority decision, with two judges dissenting.
The unprecedented shock ruling was an example of a poll result being overturned, with Maraga saying the election commission (IEBC) “failed, neglected or refused to conduct the presidential election in a manner consistent with the dictates of the constitution”.
He validated opposition leader Raila Odinga’s argument that there had been “irregularities and illegalities”, notably in the transmission of election results.
The Chief Justice said this had compromised the “integrity of the entire presidential election”.
