Jubilee Lines Up Eight Lawyers to Respond to Cord Petition

Members of the Jubilee legal team have set up an office at Chancellery Building on Nairobi’s Valley Road.

For the past couple of days the team has been combing through the IEBC poll results in anticipation of the Cord petition.

Sources told Sunday Nation that the team comprises Mr Fred Ngatia who was Mr Kenyatta’s chief agent at the Bomas vote tallying centre and Mr Mohammed Nyaoga, a former partner of attorney-general Githu Muigai.

Others are Mr Katwa Kigen, Mr Waweru Gatonye, Tharaka Nithi Senator Kindiki Kithure his Elgeyo Marakwet counterpart Kipchumba Murkommen, Dr Stephen Njiru and Ol Jorok MP-elect John Waiganjo.

One of them told Sunday Nation in confidence that they hope to rely on authorities such as the 2000 dispute in the US between presidential candidates Albert Al’ Gore and George Bush.

The dispute involved the constitutionality of a manual recount of Florida election ballots during the controversial 2000 presidential election.

Popular vote

At the end of the election day evening, Bush was ahead of Gore in the Florida popular vote by only 2,000 ballots, close enough to trigger an automatic recount. After the recount, Bush’s lead dwindled to a mere 900 votes.

Gore requested a hand-recount of votes in his four strongest counties. After the recount, Bush’s margin dropped to 537 votes. Gore then petitioned the State courts for a recount of 70,000 contested ballots. Although the lower court rejected his request, the Florida Supreme Court reversed on appeal, and ordered the disputed ballots recounted.

Bush and Cheney appealed the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to the US Supreme Court, and were granted a stay on the Florida court’s order until the US Supreme Court issued its decision.

The Supreme Court voted in Bush’s favour on a majority of five to four.

- Daily Nation