BREAKING: Kenya's Supreme Court declares presidential vote invalid, calls for new polls
Kenya's
Supreme Court on Friday declared President Uhuru Kenyatta's election
win invalid due to irregularities committed by the election board and
ordered a new vote in 60 days.
The
decision to cancel the vote result, the first of its kind in Kenya's
history, sets up a new race for the presidency between Kenyatta and
veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga.
East
Africa's biggest economy has a history of disputed elections. A row
over the 2007 poll, which Odinga challenged after being declared loser,
was followed by weeks of ethnic bloodshed in which more than 1,200 were
killed.
"The
declaration (of Kenyatta's win) is invalid, null and void," said Judge
David Maranga, announcing the verdict backed by four out of the six
judges.
"The
first respondent (the election board) failed neglected or refused to
conduct the presidential election in a manner consistent with the
dictates of the constitution."
Many
voters in the west of Kenya, Odinga's stronghold, and along the coast,
where there is also traditionally large support for the opposition, feel
neglected by the central government and shut out of power.
Odinga
has contested the last three elections and lost each time. Each time,
he has claimed the votes were marred by rigging. In 2013, the Supreme
Court dismissed his petition.
This
time, his team focused on proving that the process for tallying and
transmitting results was flawed, rather than proving how much of the
vote was rigged.
Source: Reuters
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