Raila Odinga and his running mate, Martha Karua, have asked the Supreme Court to disband the electoral commission and order the purchase of new technological equipment for a repeat election if it does not issue an alternative order to recount the tallied votes.
They also want a declaration that Wafula Chebukati, the chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), is unfit to conduct a new election.
The prayers are contained in new written submissions filed by the duo to support their election petition at the Supreme Court on Friday morning. Mr Odinga and Ms Karua are attempting to overturn Kenya Kwanza leader William Ruto’s election victory, which was declared last week by IEBC chair Wafula Chebukati.
Mr Odinga and Ms Karua also want to be reimbursed for the costs of the legal proceedings. They want Mr Chebukati to pay the costs in his individual capacity “in light of his ongoing unconstitutional conduct.”
They submitted their written arguments on Friday, ahead of the status conference on Tuesday.
The prayers are contained in new written submissions filed by the duo to support their election petition at the Supreme Court on Friday morning. Mr Odinga and Ms Karua are attempting to overturn Kenya Kwanza leader William Ruto’s election victory, which was declared last week by IEBC chair Wafula Chebukati.
Mr Odinga and Ms Karua also want to be reimbursed for the costs of the legal proceedings. They want Mr Chebukati to pay the costs in his individual capacity “in light of his ongoing unconstitutional conduct.”
They submitted their written arguments on Friday, ahead of the status conference on Tuesday.
Furthermore, Lawyer Mwangi requests that the court nullify the IEBC’s declared results and issue a declaration that the IEBC tally and verify the count and declare Mr Odinga and Mr Karua to be duly elected as president-elect and deputy president-elect, respectively.
Alternatively, he seeks an order to dissolve the IEBC on the grounds that the commission as it currently stands is incapable of presiding over and conducting a proper, credible, and verifiable presidential election.
According to their submissions, their complaint about the conduct of the August 9 presidential election is not only about anomalies and irregularities, but also about “an attempt to subvert the sovereign will of the people of Kenya and to overthrow the constitutional order.”
The Azimio leaders are also seeking various orders in the 40-page documents, including a new presidential election, the abolition of the current electoral commission, and the procurement of new technology for the repeat election. They claim that the current commission is incapable of overseeing new elections.
They claimed that the IEBC failed to follow the Constitution and written law, which is enough to invalidate the presidential election.
Mr Odinga and Mr Karua also contend that the narrow margin by which the election was called is critical to the legal dispute.
“The election results were declared based on 0.49 percent of all valid votes cast, which amounted to approximately 69,000 votes. That narrow margin is the context in which Ruto was declared to have met the constitutional requirement “According to the duo.
According to Azimio leaders, the elections technology intended for verification of polling station results “was so badly compromised by third parties and used to facilitate result manipulation.”
“Mr Odinga’s votes were systematically rebalanced in favor of Ruto,” Mr Mwangi claims.
He also claims that the electoral commission’s systems were tampered with.
“Smartmatic International B.V’s Kenya Integrated Election Management System (Kiems) system, which was deployed for the 2022 general elections, failed the security and transparency tests. It was incapable of producing verifiable and accurate results in strict accordance with the constitution, the election act, and the court’s electoral jurisprudence “Mr Mwangi says
He intends to call four witnesses to testify on the alleged systematic corruption and compromised Kiems kits, including former permanent secretary and corruption whistleblower John Githongo, Benson Wesonga, Bernard Adongo, and Ms Karua.
“The evidence shows that the acts complained of were committed by third parties and senior IEBC employees acting in collusion with Mr Chebukati in order to achieve a predetermined outcome in favor of Ruto,” the court documents read in part.
According to Mr Wasonga, some Kiems kits were able to transmit multiple forms from other polling stations, despite the fact that each Kiems kit was supposed to send only one Form 34A that is uniquely geo-fenced and tied to the kit by a unique QR code.
He cited two Kiems kits that allegedly uploaded two different forms, both of which they claim were altered.
Their lawyer wants the Supreme Court to declare that Dr. Ruto was not legitimately elected and to declare Mr. Odinga and Ms Karua as President-elect and Deputy President-elect, respectively, after scrutinizing the votes and results.
In the alternative, they want a declaration that if the court finds that noncompliance with the constitution and other election laws, irregularities, and illegalities have a negative impact on the presidential election as a whole, the court should declare the election invalid and order a new poll.
Lawyer Fred Orego filed the submissions, claiming that they followed Supreme Court rules by summarizing the entire petition and evidence into a 40-page document.
They are also attempting to have a counter-petition against Mr Odinga’s case dismissed by two outgoing MPs, Mr Moses Kuria and Mr Geofrey King’ang’i.
