Kenya’s Supreme Court to Hear Last-Minute Petition on Election Rerun
- 7 years ago
Kenya’s Supreme Court to Hear Last-Minute Petition on Election Rerun
Mr. Odinga’s position appeared to be bolstered by the resignation last week of one of Kenya’s election commissioners, and by a public statement from the commission’s chairman, Wafula Chebukati,
that he could not guarantee "a free, fair and credible election." Mr. Chebukati was speaking at a news conference within hours of the resignation of the commissioner, Roselyn Akombe.
24, 2017
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear a last-minute petition
that may meaningfully delay the rerun of the country’s presidential election, already cast into question by the withdrawal of the main opposition candidate.
According to the petition, the political standoff around the scheduled election risks "disenfranchising more than six (6) million voters of a leading candidate
that has withdrawn from the race." The petitioners also argue that Mr. Odinga’s withdrawal should have reset the election clock, allowing for all the parties to hold fresh talks on nominations.
The court scheduled the new hearing a day after 20 ambassadors from Europe, the United States and Australia issued a joint statement acknowledging
that "the deteriorating political environment" and "inflammatory rhetoric, attacks on institutions, and growing insecurity all make holding a credible and fair poll more difficult." But at the same time, Western diplomats have been pushing for a vote sooner rather than later.
That process, presumably, could have resulted in a candidate for Mr. Odinga’s political party,
but it also would have delayed the elections for at least another 30 days — or perhaps longer, depending on the court’s interpretation of Kenya’s election law and the court’s prior rulings.
Robert said that I don’t want to suggest by this remark
that I’m saying the election has to be held on Oct. 26, but this election cycle at some point does have to come to an end,
Mr. Odinga’s position appeared to be bolstered by the resignation last week of one of Kenya’s election commissioners, and by a public statement from the commission’s chairman, Wafula Chebukati,
that he could not guarantee "a free, fair and credible election." Mr. Chebukati was speaking at a news conference within hours of the resignation of the commissioner, Roselyn Akombe.
24, 2017
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear a last-minute petition
that may meaningfully delay the rerun of the country’s presidential election, already cast into question by the withdrawal of the main opposition candidate.
According to the petition, the political standoff around the scheduled election risks "disenfranchising more than six (6) million voters of a leading candidate
that has withdrawn from the race." The petitioners also argue that Mr. Odinga’s withdrawal should have reset the election clock, allowing for all the parties to hold fresh talks on nominations.
The court scheduled the new hearing a day after 20 ambassadors from Europe, the United States and Australia issued a joint statement acknowledging
that "the deteriorating political environment" and "inflammatory rhetoric, attacks on institutions, and growing insecurity all make holding a credible and fair poll more difficult." But at the same time, Western diplomats have been pushing for a vote sooner rather than later.
That process, presumably, could have resulted in a candidate for Mr. Odinga’s political party,
but it also would have delayed the elections for at least another 30 days — or perhaps longer, depending on the court’s interpretation of Kenya’s election law and the court’s prior rulings.
Robert said that I don’t want to suggest by this remark
that I’m saying the election has to be held on Oct. 26, but this election cycle at some point does have to come to an end,