Court rules presidential results declared at constituency final
Party agents watch as an IEBC official seals a ballot box in a past election. The High Court has ruled that presidential election election results declared at the constituency level will be final. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The judges have ruled that Section 39(2) and (3) of the Elections Act is contrary to Article 86 of the Constitution.
- Any person seeking to have what will be announced altered should do that through an election petition filed in court.
Presidential election results declared at the constituency level by returning officers will be final and will not be subject to any alterations at the national tallying centre, a three-judge bench has ruled.
High Court judges Weldon Korir, Aggrey Muchelule and Enoch Chacha Mwita have declared the law that required presidential election results to be subjected to further alterations at the national tallying centre as null and void.
The judges have ruled that Section 39(2) and (3) of the Elections Act is contrary to Article 86 of the Constitution.
This means that the section of the Elections Act that gave IEBC the mandate to vary presidential election results submitted by returning officers at the constituency levels has been declared unconstitutional.
The judges have consequently ruled that a returning officer at the constituency level has the mandate to declare final presidential election results and that any other person seeking to have what will be announced altered should do that through an election petition filed in court.
UN special rapporteur Maina Kiai, together with Khelef Khalifa and Tirop Kitur, had sued the IEBC as well as the Attorney-General.
They had challenged the law that gave the electoral body the mandate to verify presidential election results announced by returning officers at the constituency level.
