Marsabit governor, woman rep win election petitions
What you need to know:
- Justice Said Chitembwe said the governor and woman rep were validly elected on August 8, 2017.
- The judge said no election offences were committed when the two leaders were elected.
- He asked the petitioners in each case to pay the second and third respondents Sh2.5 million each.
The High Court in Marsabit has dismissed petitions challenging the win of Governor Mohamud Ali and Woman Representative Safia Sheikh Adan.
While delivering the judgment, Justice Said Chitembwe said the respondents were validly elected on August 8, 2017.
He asked the petitioners in each case to pay the second and third respondents Sh2.5 million each.
PETITION
The petitioners had raised various issues on the election process, citing a violation of the law, registration problems, and the IEBC not allowing voters to cast their ballot.
Mr Chitembwe dismissed the petitions against the IEBC and Marsabit Returning Officer Arnold Mutwiri.
"On the issue of the portal displaying results, I decided that it is not the portal that is used to declare results but the forms," he said.
The judge said that all the people who complained about being barred from voting had participated in the election.
RULING
The judge said no election offences were committed when the two leaders were elected.
The judgment also noted that forms presented to the court of voters being barred from voting were not authentic.
The voters’ register produced by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in court were all marked, showing that the voters cast their ballots.
"Even if the registers were not marked, that would not be a ground of nullifying the election," said Mr Chitembwe.
The judge said that the petitions lacked merit.
