Should the outcome of the March 4 election be upheld, President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta would be sworn in on April 9. The Constitution requires that if the petitions are dismissed, the President-elect must be sworn-in on the Tuesday falling a week after the judgement. But if the court nullifies the elections, a fresh election must be held within 60 days.
Lawyers argued that if all the declarations sought by Raila are granted it would be practically impossible to hold another election in 60 days. A new commission would have to be constituted, new procurement of equipment done, and a fresh voter register compiled.
“As of now, no one on Kenya knows the number of registered voters in Kenya,” Raila’s lawyer George Oraro told the court.
Further the court will have to define whether a fresh election would mean getting all the eight presidential candidates and anyone else interested, back to the ballot or just conduct a re-run between Raila and Uhuru.
Attorney General Githu Muigai said on Thursday that the Constitution was not clear on what a fresh election entails. The AG said the phrase “fresh election”, used twice in the Constitution, had more than one meaning and the court would have to grapple with the question.
A run-off is only explicitly provided for where no candidate attains the constitutional threshold and not where the election is invalidated in a petition.
-Standard Digital
