Kenya's Supreme Court declares
presidential vote invalid, calls for new poll
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[September 01, 2017]
By Maggie Fick and George Obulutsa
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's Supreme Court
nullified President Uhuru Kenyatta's election win citing irregularities
on Friday and ordered a new poll within 60 days after last month's
voting was followed by protests and sporadic violence that killed at
least 28 people.
The decision to cancel the result, the first of its kind in Kenya, sets
up a new race for the presidency between Kenyatta, 55, and veteran
opposition leader Raila Odinga, 72.
East Africa's biggest economy has a history of disputed elections. A row
over the 2007 poll, which Odinga challenged after being declared loser,
was followed by weeks of ethnic bloodshed in which more than 1,200
people were killed.
Friday's ruling, which sent shares plummeting on the Nairobi bourse,
brought celebrating Odinga supporters onto the streets of his western
heartland. In court, a grinning Odinga pumped his fist in the air as his
supporters cheered and shook his hand.
"The declaration (of Kenyatta's win) is invalid, null and void," said
Judge David Maranga, announcing a verdict backed by four of the six
judges.
He said the election board "failed, neglected or refused to conduct the
presidential election in a manner consistent with the dictates of the
constitution."
Official results had given Kenyatta 54.3 percent of the vote, compared
to Odinga's 44.7 percent, a lead of 1.4 million votes. Kenyatta's ruling
party also swept the legislature.
"This indeed is a very historic day for the people of Kenya," Odinga
said after the decision. "For the first time in history of African
democratization a ruling has been made by a court nullifying irregular
elections for the president."
International observers had said they saw no sign of manipulation of
voting and tallying at polling stations.
Civil society groups said the election board was too slow posting
results from polling stations. Thousands were missing when official
results were declared, so opponents could not check totals. Court
experts said some documents lacked official stamps or had figures that
did not match official tallies.
ETHNIC LOYALTIES
At least 28 people were killed in violence after Kenyatta was initially
declared victor. Most were shot or beaten to death by police amid
scattered protests in opposition strongholds.
Ethnic loyalties still tend to trump policy in Kenyan votes. Kenyatta is
a Kikuyu, the biggest of Kenya's more than 40 ethnic groups, while
Odinga is a Luo, another big ethnic group.
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Judges sit in court as President Uhuru Kenyatta's election win was
declared invalid in Nairobi, Kenya, September 1, 2017. REUTERS/Baz
Ratner
A lawyer for Kenyatta, Ahmednasir Abdullahi, said the decision was
"very political" and the election board had "done nothing wrong."
But he said the decision had to be respected.
"Let's go back to the people and the Kenyan people will express
themselves again," he said.
Many voters in the west of Kenya, Odinga's stronghold, and along the
coast, where many of the nation's Muslims live and traditionally
another region of opposition support, feel neglected by the central
government. Kenyatta's main support base is in the central region.
Kenyatta and Odinga are both scions of political families.
Kenyatta's father, Jomo Kenyatta, was the nation's founding
president who had a long running rivalry with Oginga Odinga, who
failed like his son in efforts to secure the top job.
Odinga has contested the last three elections and lost each time.
After each one, he has claimed the votes were marred by rigging. In
2013, the Supreme Court dismissed his petition.
This time, his team focused on proving that the process for tallying
and transmitting results was flawed, rather than proving how much of
the vote was rigged.
Residents in the western city of Kisumu, where Odinga has strong
backing, cheered and motorcycle drivers hooted their horns. "Today
is a special today and I will celebrate until I am worn out,” said
32-year-old Kevin Ouma.
In the eastern Rift Valley town of Kinangop, a stronghold for the
ruling party, small groups gathered and complained.
"Over 8 million people supported the election of Uhuru Kenyatta but
the Supreme Court has ignored this in the ruling which is very
shameful," said Matheri Wa Hungu.
Kenyan shares, which rallied after Kenyatta was declared winner,
tumbled on Friday and prompted the authorities to suspend trading
for half an hour. The shilling <KES=> weakened and Kenya's dollar
bonds fell.
(Writing by Katharine Houreld and Edmund Blair; Editing by Janet
Lawrence)
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