Kenya court tells why it voided vote

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s Supreme Court said Wednesday that it nullified President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election largely because the electoral commission refused to allow an investigation of its computerized system that transmitted results.

The judges said that because the electoral commission refused to allow scrutiny of its computer servers, the court had no choice but to agree with the claim by Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga that the computerized data of the August presidential elections had been interfered with.

Outside the court, demonstrators protested for and against the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The court annulled the election results earlier this month, saying there were irregularities and illegalities. It made the decision in response to Odinga’s petition challenging the official results that Kenyatta won with 54 percent of the vote. The electoral commission has set Oct. 17 as the date for a new election.

Explaining why it annulled Kenyatta’s win, the Supreme Court said its order to view the computerized data was “a golden opportunity” for the electoral commission to present evidence to debunk Odinga’s claim of interference.

The electoral commission also failed to implement verification measures required by the constitution to ensure that the election was credible, said the judgment. The electoral commission announced the winner of the presidential election even though it was missing thousands of scanned copies of forms used to compile the presidential results, the justices said. Those measures were ordered by an appeals court last year to enhance accountability and reduce electoral fraud.

“For the above reasons we find the 2017 presidential election was not conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the constitution and the written law of election in that it was … neither transparent nor verifiable. On that ground alone … we have no choice but nullify it,” said the judgment.