The Supreme Court finds that the power to verify and tally presidential election results vests not in the chairperson but in the commission. In line with earlier court decisions – the chairperson cannot arrogate to himself the power to verify and tally the results to the exclusion of others.
But the judges took cognisance of the fact that the four commissioners who disputed the final results had taken part in earlier verifications and tallying of the results.
The four commissioners did not produce any document showing the the result was compromised and they did not explain why they took part in a verification process which they then said was “opaque”, the chief justice says.
But the judges are critical of the governance of the electoral commission which could produce such a split.
However, this was not enough to nullify the outcome of the poll, the chief justice concludes in this section.
Court looking at verification and tallying of results
The chief justice is addressing whether the chairperson of the electoral commission can verify, tally and declare results without consulting other commissioners.
The context here is that four of the seven electoral commissioners had said the process was “opaque” and disputed the results.
The context here is that four of the seven electoral commissioners had said the process was “opaque” and disputed the results.
Court rejects ballot-stuffing allegation
Not a single document has been produced by Raila Odinga’s team that there was ballot stuffing, the chief justice says.
Court dismisses there was voter suppression
The chief justice said the postponement of elections in some areas did not result in voter suppression to the detriment of Raila Odinga.
The court finds that there were no discrepancies between the votes cast for the president and those cast for the other positions, the chief justice says.
She says the electoral commission has explained categories of voters who only vote for president such as prisoners and diaspora voters.
The court also found that the postponement of the election in some constituencies did not affect the outcome of the presidential vote.
