KENYA: Kenya's defeated presidential contender Raila Odinga filed a petition at the Supreme Court challenging the result of the March 4 election

Record ID: 362557

  • Title: KENYA: Kenya's defeated presidential contender Raila Odinga filed a petition at the Supreme Court challenging the result of the March 4 election
  • Date: 16th March 2013
  • Summary: NAIROBI, KENYA (MARCH 16, 2013) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR KENYA'S SUPREME COURT WITH SUPPORTERS OF DEFEATED PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE RAILA ODINGA OUTSIDE MORE OF ODINGA'S SUPPORTERS OUTSIDE SUPREME COURTS VARIOUS OF SECURITY OFFICERS OUTSIDE SUPREME COURT SIGN READING SUPREME COURT REGISTRY VARIOUS O ODINGA'S LAWYERS FILLING THE PETITION VARIOUS OF PETITION PAPERS COURT OFFICIALS R
  • Embargoed: 31st March 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA48YIQTMGOQNXII38I47B6EL4A
  • Story Text: Kenya's defeated presidential contender Raila Odinga filed a legal challenge to his election loss on Saturday (March 16), the first major test of the country's new constitution adopted after a disputed vote five years ago lead to deadly tribal clashes.
    The petition threatens to extend the period of uncertainty clouding the outcome of Kenya's hotly contested election, the first since disputes about the 2007 poll sparked ethnic clashes in which more than 1,200 people were killed.
    Odinga, Kenya's outgoing prime minister, refuses to accept last week's slim first-round election win by Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya's richest man and son of its first president.
    The March 4 election was largely peaceful and Kenyatta, who faces international charges for crimes against humanity, declared the vote "free and fair" in his acceptance speech last Saturday, though he added the electoral process could be made more refined and efficient in the future.
    Kenya's electoral commission (IEBC) had promised a smooth election but the collapse of an expensive new electronic voting system added to the delays which characterised the five day wait for the winner to be announced.
    Odinga's petition alleges widespread rigging and accuses the IEBC of inflating voter registration numbers and going ahead with the election aware that its systems were going to fail.

    "Despite my agents regularly updating and complaining to the IEBC about the incidences of electoral frauds, malpractices and irregularities they discovered during the elections, the IEBC neglected, refused or failed to act," said Raila Odinga.
    Kenyatta comfortably beat Odinga in terms of votes won, 50.07 percent versus 43.28 percent, but only narrowly avoided a run-off after winning just 8,100 votes more than the 50 percent needed to be declared the winner outright.
    The tight nature of Kenyatta's win has given Odinga's allies confidence that they can force a run-off through the courts, though the petition calls for the whole process to be declared null and void.
    By the time the petition was filed in the early afternoon, hundreds of Odinga supporters came to the Supreme Court, many wearing T-shirts marked with slogans "I support the petition" and "Democracy on trial", an echo of Odinga's statement that his petition would be a test of democracy in east Africa's biggest economy.
    Uncertainty over the outcome has cast a shadow over an election which had exceeded many people's expectations, with the violence that many worried could erupt largely avoided.
    Observers say a swift and transparent resolution of the dispute is seen as critical to restoring Kenya's reputation as a stable democracy. Big Western donors worry about a nation seen as a vital ally in the regional fight against militant Islam.
    The IEBC has consistently described the vote as credible despite a series of technological glitches on voting day and during the tallying of ballots. The IEBC spokeswoman could not be reached for comment.
    Odinga has repeatedly questioned the validity of the March 4. election, from voter registration to the result.

    "In many polling stations, the valid votes cast exceeded the number of registered voters. In specific instances, the results in Form 36 disclosed by IEBC were materially different from the results that were posted in the final tally of the presidential results," Odinga added.
    Odinga's petition names IEBC and its chairman Issack Hassan as two of the four respondents. The other two are Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto, who is also indicted by the ICC for crimes against humanity. Both deny the charges.
    Odinga's attempts to nullify Kenyatta's victory will be the first significant test for Kenya's new Supreme Court, which set up under a constitution adopted in a 2010 referendum.
    ENDS
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