Kenya’s Supreme Court has annulled the result of last month’s presidential election, citing irregularities, and ordered a new one within 60 days.
The election commission had declared incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta the winner by a margin of 1.4 million votes.
Raila Odinga, Mr Kenyatta’s opponent, said the commission was “rotten” and demanded resignations and prosecutions.
President Kenyatta said he would respect the court’s decision but also branded the judges “crooks”.
Other
elections in Africa have been annulled or cancelled but this appears to
be the first time on the continent that an opposition court challenge
against a presidential poll result has been successful.
What next for Kenya after void election?
The brave judge who made Kenyan history
Friday’s events as they happened
Chief
Justice David Maraga said the 8 August election had not been “conducted
in accordance with the constitution” and declared it “invalid, null and
void”.
He said the verdict was backed by four of the six Supreme Court judges.
The announcement drew cheers from opposition supporters both inside and outside the courtroom.
The court ruling did not attribute any blame to President Kenyatta’s party or campaign.
What did the judges say was wrong?
Justice
Maraga said the election commission had failed “to conduct the
presidential election in a manner consistent with the dictates of the
constitution”.
Kenya Supreme Court says the presidential election was not conducted in accordance with the constitution
Image caption Kenya Supreme Court says the presidential election was not conducted in accordance with the constitution
He
said the commission had committed irregularities “in the transmission
of results”, adding that the court would provide details in a full
judgment within 21 days.
Dissenting judges said that the Nasa
opposition alliance – which had petitioned the Supreme Court – failed to
prove claims that the polls had been rigged.
The election
sparked days of sporadic protests, in which at least 28 people were
killed. The vote had raised fears of major political violence – as was
the case after a disputed poll in 2007.
How have the two political sides reacted?
Mr
Odinga, 72, said the ruling marked “a historic day for the people of
Kenya and by extension for the people of the continent of Africa”.
He said: “It is now clear that the entire [electoral commission] is rotten.
“It is clear that the real election results were never shared with Kenyans. Someone must take responsibility.”
Image copyright AFP Raila Odinga (C)
Image caption Raila Odinga (C) reacts with delight in the courtroom
Mr Odinga added: “We won the elections and we are going to win them again.”
President
Kenyatta, in a televised address, said that it was “important to
respect the rule of law even if you disagree with the Supreme Court
ruling”.
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He
called for calm, saying: “Your neighbour will still be your neighbour,
regardless of what has happened… My primary message today to every
single Kenyan is peace. Let us be people of peace.”
Image copyright GETTY IMAGES Uhuru Kenyatta, 10 March 2013
Image caption Uhuru Kenyatta, in power since 2013, won a second term at last month’s poll, which has now been declared invalid
Mr Kenyatta, 55, added: “We are ready to go back again to the people with the same agenda that we delivered to the people.”
The president was more combative later at a rally of supporters in a market in Nairobi.
He
referred to Justice Maraga and his fellow judges as wakora ( crooks in
Swahili ), saying they had “decided to cancel the election”. He warned
the chief justice that as the poll had been annulled he was now the
president again, not president-elect.
“Do you understand me? Maraga should know that he is now dealing with the serving president,” Mr Kenyatta said.
“We are keeping a close eye on them. But let us deal with the election first. We are not afraid.”
And the electoral commission?
Chairman Wafula Chebukati noted the ruling and said there would be “changes to personnel” ahead of the new election.
He invited the director of public prosecutions “to prosecute any of our staff that may have been involved in violations”.
But he ruled out resigning, saying he had not been accused of wrongdoing.
What have the international monitors said?
After
the election, international monitors from the EU, the African Union and
the US had said there was no major fraud on polling day and urged Mr
Odinga to concede.
On Friday, Marietje Schaake, the head of the
EU Observer Mission, said the court ruling represented “a historic day
for Kenya and we have always said that people who feel aggrieved should
seek the path of the courts”.
She said the monitors had at the time pointed to irregularities and encouraged the Kenyan authorities to deal with them.
Ms Schaake said the monitors were awaiting the full details of the ruling.
Raila
Odinga will feel vindicated against accusations that he was just being a
bad loser in challenging President Kenyatta’s win.
However, this
historic decision is a massive indictment of the electoral commission.
It is therefore no surprise that the opposition Nasa coalition is now
calling for a new team to manage the next elections.
This is also
a setback for the international, and some local, election observers,
who profusely praised the election as free, fair and credible.
People
will be watching for the reaction of former US Secretary of State John
Kerry, who was the head of the mission for US NGO, the Carter Centre,
whose positive assessment of the election was used in court.
Regardless
of the winners and losers following the ruling, this is a proud moment
for Kenya. The litigation and debate on the merits of the election was
done at the Supreme Court and not on the streets.
Chief Justice
Maraga said it best in his opening statement: “The greatness of a nation
lies in its fidelity to the constitution and the strict adherence to
the rule of law.”
Source:- BBC
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