High Court upholds election of Mandera Governor Ali Roba
What you need to know:
- Petitioner says some Forms 34A were not signed by presiding officers while his agents were chased away from some polling stations and were unable to verify the results.
- But judge said the inconsistencies found during a scrutiny of the votes were insufficient to affect the election outcome.
The High Court on Wednesday upheld the election of Mandera Governor Ali Roba.
While dismissing the petition, Justice Fred Ochieng said the discrepancies noted after a scrutiny of the votes were not sufficient to affect the outcome of the election.
RESULTS
He said the final results reflected the will of the people of Mandera.
The Judge said the scrutiny confirmed that the results were verifiable.
"Even if there were irregularities in Mandera County, they did not have any significant impact on the outcome," he said.
Justice Ochieng said Mr Roba was validly elected and ordered petitioner Hassan Noor Hassan to pay costs not exceeding Sh5 million to Mr Roba and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
He dismissed claims by Mr Hassan that the commission altered gazetted polling stations by relocating them.
Mandera Town residents celebrate after court upholds Governor Ali Roba's election. PHOTO | MANASE OTSIALO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
PETITION
The petitioner did not prove how the alleged relocation affected how people voted, the judge said.
Justice Ochieng said IEBC confirmed that all polling stations were gazetted.
In the petition, Mr Hassan accused the IEBC of making flawed decisions such that it was impossible to determine whether the results announced were the true and proper reflection of the will of the voters in specific polling stations.
CLAIMS
Mr Hassan alleged that the Forms 34A used to enter the results for the governor’s position were altered at the polling stations and fake ones used to tally the results at the county level.
In some instances, he said Forms 34A were not signed by presiding officers while his agents were chased away from some polling stations and were unable to verify the results.
Mr Hassan specifically complained of the entire Mandera North Constituency, arguing that the results were rigged in favour of the incumbent.
Mr Roba dismissed the claims, stating that he was validly elected by the people of Mandera.
Incidentally, all election petitions filed challenging results of top posts in Mandera County have been dismissed.
Judges have dismissed election petitions against Mr Roba, Senator Mohamed Maalim Mohamud and MPs Mohamed Maalim and Bashir Abdullahi of Mandera East and Mandera North, respectively.
