By Spy Uganda Correspondent
The Kenyan Supreme Court has issued several recommendations to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) that will help to fix the commission in managing future elections.
In a detailed judgment delivered on Monday, September 26, the seven judges of the Supreme Court stripped off IEBC chairman the powers of verifying and tallying presidential votes.
The apex court declared as “unconstitutional” a section of election regulation that gave the commissions chair powers to verify and tally presidential results in a move that is likely to have far-reaching political and legal implications.
“Regulation 87(3) of the Elections (General) Regulations, 2012 is hereby declared unconstitutional to the extent that it purports to vest the power of verifying and tallying presidential Election results, as received at the National Tallying Centre, solely on the chairperson to the exclusion of other members of the commission,” the Supreme Court said.
During the August 9, presidential election, four commissioners of IEBC disowned the presidential results that were yet to be announced by the commission’s chairperson Wafula Chebukati.
IEBC vice chairperson Juliana Cherera, Francis Wanderi, Justus Nyaganya, and Irene Masit termed as “Opaque” IEBC commission Wafula Chebukati’s results declared William Ruto the president-elect.
In a statement issued by their spokesperson Juliana Cherera, the four commissioners accused the IEBC chairman of sidelining them during the verification and tallying of presidential results.
“As you can see the four of us are here and not at Bomas where the result is going to be announced because of the opaque nature of how this phase has been handled. We, therefore, cannot take ownership of the result that is going to be announced,” Cherera said.
