Njoki: I won Bahati MP seat in a free, fair, transparent manner
Irene Njoki after she received her certificate from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) after winning the Bahati parliamentary seat in Nakuru county in the August 9, 2022 General Election.
What you need to know:
- Mr Ngunjiri filed his petition on September 8 to challenge the outcome of the election, which he said was marred by massive irregularities and fraud
- He sued Ms Njoki, the electoral agency and Bahati constituency returning officer George Karani, whom he accused of presiding over a fraudulent election
Bahati MP Irene Njoki has denied rigging the elections that saw her beat former MP Kimani Ngunjiri.
In response to a petition filed by Mr Ngunjiri, Ms Njoki rejected claims of election malpractices.
Mr Ngunjiri has challenged the poll outcome, but Ms Njoki defended her win and dismissed his rival’s allegations as “baseless and malicious”.
Ms Njoki (Jubilee) trounced Mr Ngunjiri of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and maintains she won in a free, fair and transparent manner.
“I was declared the winner after having garnered 34,308 votes, which were 7,499 more than my competitor Ngunjiri, who only garnered 26, 809 votes,” stated Ms Njoki.
Disgruntled
Mr Ngunjiri filed his petition on September 8 to challenge the outcome of the election, which he said was marred by massive irregularities and fraud.
He sued Ms Njoki, the electoral agency and Bahati constituency returning officer George Karani, whom he accused of presiding over a fraudulent election.
Mr Ngunjiri accused Ms Njoki of influencing voters and polling officers by giving them bribes.
He alleged that Ms Irene gave 65 teachers Sh10,000 each and instructed them to apply as officers with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
Rejecting the voting results, Mr Ngunjiri said tallying was not credible, accurate, transparent or verifiable.
Vote scrutiny
He wants the court to nullify the results and order votes to be scrutinised, audited and recounted, and forms 35A and Form 35B verified.
But Ms Njoki dismissed the claims and said they were not backed by any evidence.
She argued that the petitioner did not show how IEBC officials rigged the results in her favour, and questioned why none of his agents complained at the polling stations.
“The petitioner has not tendered any credible evidence to prove that the elections and results were rigged,” Ms Njoki stated.
