The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
– ‘End of impunity’ –
It is the first time a presidential election result has been overturned in Africa. Similar court rulings have been seen in Austria, Haiti, Ukraine, Serbia and the Maldives.
Kenya’s press hailed the ruling as a hard-fought victory for the rule of law, and sign of a maturing democracy.
An editorial in the Nation newspaper said the ruling “signalled the end of the era of impunity that has painfully assailed this country for too long.”
“Kenyans have struggled for decades to institutionalise the rule of law. We have fought, shed blood, lost lives and property in search of constitutional order,” the paper said.
The press also raised prickly questions about the weeks to come.
“How (the IEBC) will conduct the next elections in the next 60 days in unimaginable,” said the Nation.
“Already the NASA (opposition) leadership has declared war on the commission and with or without that, its credibility has been severely dented and the public has lost confidence in it.”
The Standard said the IEBC must “clean up house”.
“What Kenya needs most now is an election conducted in a legal, fair and transparent manner.”
– Toughest yet to come –
The opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) cried foul after the August 8 poll over alleged hacking of the electronic system transmitting results from over 40,000 polling stations to the national tallying centre.
NASA argued that tallying forms meant to back up the electronic result were riddled with irregularities: unsigned, not stamped, illegible or lacking serial numbers or watermarks.
While Maraga cited “irregularities and illegalities”, his full ruling has not yet been published.
Observers have warned that the new election could bring even more tension to a country where politics is largely divided along tribal lines.
“Kenya just had a difficult and controversial election, and this decision pushes it right back into another electoral campaign,” said analyst Nic Cheeseman of the University of Birmingham.
“The outcome of the next election may be controversial again”.
The Nation newspaper warned that there was still a long road ahead: “This is not the end. The toughest journey, campaigns and elections, is yet to begin.”
#PresidentialPetitionKe Tweets
I cannot understand what Uhuru is complaining about. The court heard evidence and legal arguments and decided on the evidence before it that the elections were tainted with some mischief rendering the result null and void. What did he want the judges to do? Disregard the evidence before it? My preliminary view is that he should thank his lucky stars that all the court was asked to do was decide on whether the laws had been breached not (as far as I am aware) the culprits. As matters stand the suggestion is that this was by Uhuru’s supporters, with or without his knowledge. This in of itself could have rendered him ineligible to stand again. Rather than rant and rave and threaten retribution, Uhuru should make sure that he and his team plays fair next time. After all what are they so scared of that they have to rig the elections if they strongly believe they have a solid support from the voters. It never ceases to amaze me how people complain about the law being an ass when they don’tr like a ruling, yet they are quick to complain when they are on the wrong side of the law, demanding rights to a free and fair trial. The man dost protest too much me thinks!
Simply put, if your score a goal in a football match whilst offside, it will not count if it seen by the linesman or referee because it is against the rules of the game. There is no point blaming/threatening the referee. Such dissent can lead to a yellow card! It’s also childish to complain when you are caught out.