Kenya Supreme Court Orders Re-Run of Presidential Poll, Describes the Results as Invalid

Kenya’s Supreme Court has declared the results of last month’s presidential poll “invalid, null and void” and ordered the election be re-run within 60 days.

“The presidential election held on August 8 was not conducted in accordance with the constitution,” said Chief Justice David Maraga, ruling in favour of the opposition which challenged the declaration of President Uhuru Kenyatta as the winner.

Maraga said this was a majority decision, with two judges dissenting.

The shock ruling was a rare example of a poll result being overturned, with Maraga saying the election commission (IEBC) “failed, neglected or refused to conduct the presidential election in a manner consistent with the dictates of the constitution”.

He validated opposition leader Raila Odinga’s argument that there had been “irregularities and illegalities”, notably in the transmission of election results.

Maraga said this had compromised the “integrity of the entire presidential election”.