How court verdicts have shaped recent elections

The Maina Kiai decision was instrumental in widening the democratic space and protecting voters' rights. [Elvis Ogina, Standard] An appellate court decision that results at polling stations are final will again dictate the outcome of the ruling on eight petitions filed to declare the 2022 presidential polls null and void. The Maina Kiai decision in the electoral process, which sets out the guidelines for the tallying and declaration of presidential results in the country, will dictate if President-elect William Ruto will be sworn in as the fifth president of the Republic of Kenya or Kenyans will vote in another presidential election rerun. The appellate court barred the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson from altering results from the polling stations and announcing them as declared at the polling station in the Maina Kiai decision, which shaped voting in the country. "The lowest voting unit and the first level of the declaration of presidential election results is the polling station," said Justice William Ouko, then Court of Appeal judge. "The declaration form containing those results is the primary document, and other forms subsequent to it are only tallies of the original and final result as recorded at the polling station." The judgement delivered by a five-judge bench said the results from polling stations are final and can only be altered by the Supreme Court. "To suggest that there is some law that empowers the chairperson of the IEBC, as an individual, to alone correct, vary, confirm, alter, modify or adjust the results electronically transmitted to the national tallying centre from the constituency tallying centres is to donate an illegitimate power," the ruling stated. "Such a suggestion would introduce opaqueness and arbitrariness to the electoral process-the very mischief the Constitution seeks to remedy." Other judges on the bench were Asike-Makhandia, Patrick Kiage, Kathurima M'Inoti, and Agnes Murgor. "The declaration form containing those results is a primary document and all other forms subsequent to it are only tallies of the original and final results recorded at the polling station." The court dismissed an IEBC argument that it does not trust its workers, arguing it was "hypocritical" for the commission to doubt its employees. Civil society groups, pundits, and professionals applauded the ruling, saying that it will streamline the voting and tallying process to ensure the IEBC chairperson declares the correct poll results. They added that it is the same reason why the decision is the most quoted case on election petitions." Political analyst Javas Bigambo said that the Maina Kiai decision was instrumental in widening the democratic space and protecting voters' rights. "It reduced or cut out top people in the IEBC from manipulating the votes cast at the polling station," Bigambo said. Bigambo added that the case is among those decisions made by the judiciary to streamline the voting processes so that Kenyans can elect the right people in power. "Case in point, the manner in which various sections of the Election Amendments Act after the 2017 elections were declared unconstitutional by the court," he said. "We need to appreciate the Judiciary, which has been instrumental in strengthening the electoral process." He said the ruling was significant in managing elections and ensuring that the electoral body chairperson announced the correct results. Political analyst Ojwang Duncan told viewers on August 19 on a local TV station that the Maina Kiai decision meant form 34 A is final.

How court verdicts have shaped recent elections

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How court verdicts have shaped recent elections

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