The Kenyan opposition leader, Raila Odinga, has rejected as “null and void” the result of a presidential election that he was declared to have lost, and pledged to challenge the outcome with “all constitutional and legal options”.
Odinga said he would channel his complaints through “appropriate authorities”, in his first comments since William Ruto, the deputy president, was declared the winner with 50.49% of the vote by the electoral commission chair, Wafula Chebukati, on Monday.
“We totally and without reservations reject the presidential results announced yesterday by Mr Chebukati,” said Odinga on Tuesday.
His announcement came shortly after four electoral commissioners said they stood by their decision to disown the outcome of the election, saying Chebukati had declared the results without the involvement of all commissioners.
“The results of the presidential elections held in August 9th 2022, declared and announced by Mr Wafula Chebukati on August 15th, 2022 belonged to himself and do not represent the (position) of the commission,” said the deputy chair of the electoral body, Juliana Cherera. The commissioners also said Chebukati did not address some of the political parties’ complaints before calling the win.
Odinga lauded the four commissioners’ “heroism” for denouncing the results, adding: “We are certain that justice will prevail.”
He also urged his supporters to remain calm, following outbreaks of violence in some of Odinga’s strongholds on Monday after the results were announced.
Odinga is expected to file a case with the courts in coming weeks. However, lawyers said Odinga may not have strong legal grounds.
“Odinga has not spoken to any substantive issues of law or fact regarding why he is disputing the results,” said Javas Bigambo, a lawyer and political analyst. “He is saying that Chebukati made the announcement without involving the four other commissioners who have sidestepped the declaration of the results, but the commission does not make a decision about the results – it only announces it. The voting is the ultimate decision.”
A number of public and civil society groups have also released tallies that support the electoral body’s count.
“The commission’s verification process was credible and every critical player was involved with that process – from observers, political party agents, media, body officials,” said Marcus Ageng’a, a senior programmes officer at the Elections Observations Group.
Observers say the commission has made significant progress from 2017, when the country had to conduct a repeat poll after “widespread discrepancies” by the electoral body. “The commission made data publicly available in line with the rights of the public to information – anyone can interrogate the results forms,” said Ageng’a, a move that observers say increased public confidence in the outcome.
The dramatic events on Monday raised fears of violence such as that seen after previous disputed polls.
In 2017, more than 100 people were killed after the supreme court overturned the result, citing anomalies in the voting process. A decade earlier, more than 1,200 people were killed in widespread violence after the 2007 presidential vote.
But some analysts believe a concession may still be possible.
“It’s possible that Odinga is finding a political way of giving psychological healing to his supporters, so that he does not seem to have just thrown in the towel after the declaration of results and puts them on the path of slow acceptance,” said Bigambo.
Kenya opposition leader rejects election result as ‘null and void’ | Kenya & Latest News Update
Kenya opposition leader rejects election result as ‘null and void’ | Kenya & More Live News
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