ODM leader Raila Odinga has further critiqued the Supreme Court decision regarding his petition, which the court rejected for lack of sufficient evidence.
In the consolidated petition that attempted to overturn President William Ruto’s victory on August 9, Raila identified inconsistencies in the court’s ruling on six of the nine matters that were being decided.
On the question of whether Ruto attained 50 per cent+1 of the votes cast, Raila said the Court treated the matter in a cavalier manner and allowed IEBC to “explain away” the grievous concerns raised by the Petitioners.
“For instance, Wafula Chebukati had told the country unequivocally that the voter turnout was 65.4 per cent and that the same would vise. He had then revised that figure to 64.76 per cent,” said the former Prime minister.
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The former presidential contender said that the petitioners proved that the figures were changed to ensure that Dr Ruto attained the 50%+1 votes threshhold.
“The Court simply accepted IEBC brushing away the issue as a mistake. In fact, the Court characterized this as an “announcement error”,” he continued.
On whether the Wafula Chebukati-led commission carried out verification of tallying and declaration of results in accordance with the law, Raila said the court faulted the chairman for unilaterally declaring poll results in the exclusion of the other commissioners against the legal provision that requires the commission to do collectively.
Ironically, Raila remarked, the court decided against annulling an election because of a last-minute boardroom fight and quorum mishaps because doing so would set a bad precedent.
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“The Court finds, like it had to, that there was a boardroom rupture and that the Commission has to act in unison, but curiously says there is no evidence of violation of the Constitution,” Raila said.
“We wonder whether the Supreme Court itself would view a 3-4 ruling – with a majority of Judges in dissent – as the Judgment of the court.”
On if the postponing of elections in Kakamega and Mombasa counties harmed voter turnout in his strongholds, Raila said the cancelling of the polls resulted in a 4 per cent reduction in voter turnout compared to surrounding counties.
However, Raila claimed that despite this, the court still insulted the petitioners by calling their concerns “red herrings.”
“Was it not sufficient to simply rule that the Court did not believe that the postponement affected the voter turnout in a way that could alter the final result of the election?” he posed.
Raila also challenged the supreme court’s conclusion regarding whether there was a distinction between Forms 34A distributed to poll workers and those that were received at the national tallying center at the Bomas of Kenya.
The Azimio leader stated the court never asked IEBC to explain where the booklets were or where they had been utilized, or where the counterfoils were.
He said the court instead resorted to insult and threaten Celestine Opiyo and Arnold Oginga, the petitioners’ counsel who dared address the issue.
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“This virulent attack on the Petitioners’ Advocates was not based on any evidence of forgery or fabrication. It was based on an opinion of IEBC which the Court had decided concluded the truth on the issue,” Raila said.
This was Raila’s fifth attempt at the presidency. He was backed by retired President Uhuru Kenyatta who fell out with his deputy, Dr Ruto, at the beginning of their second term.
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