Petition challenging registration of Azimio withdrawn
Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua displaying their nomination certificate at the Bomas of Kenya on June 5,2022 after being cleared by IEBC to vie in the August 9 polls.
The Mombasa High Court on Monday allowed two voters to withdraw a petition challenging the registration of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party.
The petitioners, Kelvin Omondi and Ms Fatuma Saidi, had filed a notice to do so before Justice John Mativo.
“The petition is withdrawn with no orders to costs,” said Justice Mativo in a short ruling on Monday.
The sued parties did not oppose the withdrawal of the petition, though the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), through lawyer Augustus Wafula, sought to recover costs.
Mr Omondi and Ms Saidi had argued that the Deed Agreement (coalition agreement) establishing the party was null and void.
They claimed that it was entered in breach of the Political Parties Act (PPA) and the basic requirements for coalition agreements as provided for in the law.
“The Deed Agreement is a nullity and void for violation of any law and norm under the Political Parties Act, nothing comes out of it,” they argued.
They sued the Registrar of Political Parties, the IEBC and the party. All outfits in the coalition were listed as interested parties.
The petitioners claimed that the party was an entity unknown in law and unconstitutional as its registration had failed to meet statutory and constitutional thresholds for registration.
They wanted the court to quash the registration of the coalition agreement (Deed of Agreement) and a related Kenya Gazette notice and the nominations made by the party, saying these violated the Constitution and the PPA.
Mr Omondi and Ms Saidi said that if the party’s aspirants were cleared to participate in the August 9 polls or were elected, the results would be a nullity that would cause a constitutional crisis and thus undermine democracy and the rule of law.
“The Deed of Agreement is inconsistent with various provisions of the constitution as it seeks to curtail the freedom of association and political rights as enshrined under the constitution thus infringing on the right of citizens to make political choices,” the petition stated.
The petitioners argued that the coalition agreement was entered in an opaque manner, and as registered voters, they were entitled to any information pertaining to it as they were allowed to make an informed decision on their preferred candidates or coalition.
They also argued that the IEBC was likely to spend and waste public funds to prepare for, clear candidates affiliated to the party, and print ballot papers and other materials.
“An election is a process and every step matters including the formation and formulation of coalitions and any such coalition agreements,” they argued.
The petitioners also wanted the court to quash the coalition agreement dated March 12, 2022 as null and void.
