Do four IEBC commissioners disowning Presidential results affect Ruto’s win
3 min readIEBC commissioners disowned the Presidential results announced by Wafula Chebukati declaring William Ruto as President-Elect.
And a section of lawyers have disagreed on whether Wafula Chebukati, the chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), erred in designating William Ruto as the winner of the election without the support of the other four commissioners.
This comes after four of the seven commissioners of the IEBC addressed a press conference from Serena and disowned the results due to what they described as the opaqueness of the process during the final phase.
Minutes before the chairman of the electoral commission Wafula Chebukati announced that Ruto had won, his deputy Juliana Cherera had told media at a separate location that she and three other commissioners disowned the results.
The four IEBC commissioners alleged that the results were arrived at in an opaque manner without giving further details.
“We are not able to take ownership of the results that will be announced, because of the opaque nature of this last phase of the general election,” she said.
The electoral commission has seven commissioners.
IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati declared Deputy President William Ruto the winner of a tight presidential race on Monday.
Chebukati said Ruto had won 50.49% of the vote, against Odinga’s 48.5%.
Do four IEBC commissioners walk-out affect Ruto’s win
Article 138 of The Kenyan Constitution says the Presidential votes shall be “tallied & verified” by the Commission & announced by the Chairman.
It is the duty of the National returning officer to announce the results of the presidential results and the winner.
Article 138(10) of the Constitution provides that the Chairperson of IEBC shall declare the results of the presidential election.
The law does not demand quorum. However, the walk-out by four Commissioners taints the process.
Several lawyers in the country have differed on whether IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati erred in declaring William Ruto as President-Elect without the concurrence of four other commissioners.
Makau Mutua who is also the Azimio la Umoja coalition presidential campaign spokesman stated that the results declared by Chebukati were of no effect because it was not backed by a majority of the Commissioners.
“Any results IEBC chair Wafula Chebukati announces are invalid because he had no quorum of commissioners to hold a plenary and make such a weighty decision. The ongoing process at Bomas is now illegal.”
However, another Senior Counsel Ahmednassir Abdullahi defended Chebukati not that the law recognizes the IEBC Chairman as the sole returning officer of the Presidential Election.
“A Presidential election has a single Returning Officer…THE CHAIRMAN…other Commissioners have no role in a presidential election,” he said in a post on his Twitter account.
Now it will be a matter to be determined by the Supreme Court of Kenya if a case is filed within seven days challenging the determination of the IEBC.
After the case is filed, the Supreme Court has 14 days to hear and determine the petition. The court’s decision on whether to uphold or nullify the election would be final.
Also read,
IEBC declares William Ruto as the president-elect despite four commissioners disowning the results
Four IEBC commissioners disown presidential results
Wajackoyah confronted journalist at Bomas as he arrive for presidential result announcement
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