NAIROBI | Agencies - Kenya's Azimio La Umoja Coalition Presidential candidate Raila Odinga has rejected the results of the 2022 Presidential election where UDA Party candidate William Ruto was declared the winner.
Addressing the media on Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Odinga announced he would be heading to court to challenge the results which he termed null and void.
He accused the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati of violating the Constitution and electoral laws in his decision to declare Ruto as President-elect.
"What we saw yesterday was a travesty of the laws of Kenya by Wafula Chebukati and a minority of IEBC commissioners… The figures announced by Wafula Chebukati are null and void and must be quashed by a court of law. In our view there is no legally declared president-elect," said Odinga.
"Mr. Chebukati’s announcement purporting to announce a winner is a nullity. He (Chebukati) acted with gross impunity and in total disregard of the Constitution and our laws."
Odinga claims that Chebukati exercised dictatorship and erred in law by proceeding to announce the poll outcome despite four of the IEBC commissioners rejecting the results.
"The law is clear on the role of the chairperson of the IEBC. The law does not vest in the chairperson the powers of a dictator to rule the IEBC unilaterally," said Odinga.
"The IEBC is structured as a democratic institution in which decisions must be taken either by consensus or by a vote of the majority. The chairperson and a tiny minority of commissioners have no legal authority to take weighty decisions and proclaim them as the rulings of the IEBC."
Mr. Odinga claims Chebukati denied IEBC commissioners access to the final tally of the presidential election results before the official declaration of the election outcome Tuesday afternoon.
“I, Azimio and the nation at large, were shocked yesterday to learn that Mr. Chebukati alone decided to pronounce himself the supposed winner of the 2022 presidential elections. We understand that only Mr. Chebukati alone had access to the tally of the presidential vote,” said Odinga.
“He (Chebukati) denied all the commissioners access to that information until he suddenly appeared before the commissioners in the late afternoon to present them with a fait accompli.”
Odinga called on his supporters to remain calm, as his team explores legal avenues to have the announcement by Chebukati nullified in court.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I want to repeat that we totally and without reservations reject the presidential results announced yesterday by Mr. Chebukati,” said Odinga.
“I want to commend our supporters for remaining calm and keeping the peace, and I urge them to continue to do so. Let no one take the law into their own hands. We are pursuing constitutional and lawful channels and processes to invalidate Mr. Chebukati’s illegal and unconstitutional pronouncement. We are certain that justice will prevail,” said Odinga.
He also commended the four IEBC commissioners who walked out of Bomas to disown the results that were announced by Chebukati.
Odinga described the act by IEBC Vice Chairperson Juliana Cherera, commissioners Irene Masit, Justus Nyang'anya and Francis Wanderi as “heroic”.
“I want to further commend the heroism of the FOUR commissioners – the majority of the IEBC – who stood up to the bullying and illegal conduct of Mr. Chebukati. We are proud of them and ask them not to fear anything. Kenyans are with them,” he said.
IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati declared William Ruto as the winner of the presidential election after garnering 7,176,141 votes, representing 50.49 per cent of the total votes cast. Raila Odinga got 6,942,930 votes which represent 48.85 per cent of the votes cast.
David Mwaure of the Agano party got 31,987 votes while Roots Party leader George Wajackoyah got 61,969 votes representing 0.23 and 0.44 percent of the votes cast respectively.