Kenya’s top court orders new election

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan opposition strongholds erupted in jubilant celebrations Friday after the country’s Supreme Court nullified the result of last month’s presidential election, won by incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta.

Chief Justice David Maraga said the Aug. 8 election was not conducted in accordance with the constitution. Four of the six justices found that irregularities had tainted the integrity of the vote and supported challenger Raila Odinga’s petition for nullification. The court ordered a new election be held within 60 days.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission declared Kenyatta the winner last month by a margin of more than 1.4 million votes, in a country of 19 million eligible voters.

Friday’s ruling reverberated across Africa, demonstrating the independence of the judiciary in the East African nation.

Odinga, the opposition leader who has claimed irregularities in three successive elections, called the decision a historic day for Kenya and Africa.

“For the first time in the history of African democratization, a ruling has been made by a court nullifying irregular election of a president. This is a precedent-setting ruling,” Odinga said.

He also called for the prosecution of electoral officials, whom he doesn’t trust to conduct a new election.

Kenyan authorities had been prepared for opposition protests Friday in the capital, Nairobi. Instead, traffic came to a halt as crowds of opposition supporters danced, cheered, sang and ululated.

Kenyatta said he respected the ruling, while disagreeing with it. He called for peace and urged Kenyans to reach out to their neighbours regardless of political affiliation or tribe.

Ahmednasir Abdullahi, a lawyer for Kenyatta, called the ruling a “very political decision.” He later attacked the Supreme Court on Twitter, calling it a Third World court and describing its decision as a judicial coup d’état.

The ruling caps weeks of turmoil. Just days before the Aug. 8 vote, key election official Chris Msando was killed.

Also, a group of foreign advisers hired to help Odinga’s party ensure a fair and transparent count were arrested and deported.

After the election, at least 24 Odinga supporters were shot dead, according to Kenyan human rights groups, when police used live ammunition to quell unrest in opposition strongholds.

Odinga said that the electoral commission computer servers had been hacked. The commission initially denied any hacking attempt, but later conceded there had been an effort, which it said had failed.

Friday’s ruling is the first time a Kenyan court has nullified a vote result.

“It’s a coming-of-age moment for Kenyan democracy,” said Murithi Mutiga, an analyst with the International Crisis Group.