Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson Wafula Chebukati has defended his move to declare Hon. William Ruto as the president-elect.
The IEBC’s defence lawyer, George Murugu, has responded to a question from Supreme Court judges about why the commission’s chairperson, Wafula Chebukati, chose to announce the results of the August 9th Presidential elections in the midst of a chaotic environment and disharmony among the commissioners.
Lawyer Murugu argued before the Supreme Court on Friday that Chebukati decided to make the announcement in response to threats and violence-related pressure from the contesting parties, as witnessed at the Bomas of Kenya on August 15, 2022.
In that case, he noted that Commissioner Abdi Guliye, who was supposed to announce the remaining contested results from 27 constituencies, had the results ready but was unable to do so due to the chaos at the national tallying centre.
“As to the circumstances on why, Chebukati made considerations considering the security of his staff who at that particular point in time were suffering arrests, abductions and injuries to officials,” Murugu submitted.
He also claimed that by going through the process, the IEBC CEO had reaffirmed the transparency of the process and was confident in the outcome of the election as conducted by the electoral body.
