A former Kenyan Member of Parliament has filed a petition at the country’s Supreme Court challenging the results of last month’s Presidential elections rerun in which Uhuru Kenyatta was declared winner.
The petition seeks to overturn Kenyatta’s victory on the grounds that the polls were not conducted according to the constitution.
Former MP Harun Mwau, in his petition, argues the electoral commission should have conducted fresh nominations ahead of the polls. Monday is the last day for those with legal challenges against the 26 October Presidential elections to lodge petitions at the Supreme Court.
The petition lodged by Mwau now puts to stop preparations for Kenyatta’s swearing in for his second and final presidential term.
Kenyatta was re-elected with a 98% after his main opponent Raila Odinga withdrew from the race over what he termed as a biased electoral commission. Odinga had successfully petitioned the court to throw out Kenyatta’s August victory.
The court will remain open until midnight on Monday and several lobby groups have indicated their interest in challenging Kenyatta’s re-election. They have indicated that they want to question whether Odinga’s withdrawal from the race affected the elections and whether the elections were held according to the constitution.
Should the case go through the preliminary stage, then the hearing will start in a week’s time. Should the court uphold Kenyatta’s win, then he will be sworn in on the 23 October.
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