Kenyan opposition leader challenges election results at Supreme Court
Nairobi, Aug 22 (EFE).- Former Kenyan prime minister and opposition leader Raila Odinga on Monday challenged the results of the country’s presidential elections at the Supreme Court.
His opponent, the outgoing vice-president William Ruto, was declared victorious in the August 9 poll with 50.5% of the vote to Odinga’s 48.9%.
Daniel Maanzo, a lawyer for Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja party, confirmed his team had filed online documentation to the court, and that paper versions were being prepared for submission by the afternoon deadline.
Odinga has alleged vote counting irregularities in the elections, describing the outcome as “illegal.”
Wafula Chebukati, the president of Kenya’s electoral commission, announced the results on August 15.
Once the lawsuit is submitted, the Supreme Court has 14 days to issue a ruling.
It is the fifth time Odinga contests results during decades as an opposition leader, in which time he has lost five presidential elections.
After his narrow defeat in the 2007 election, his allegations of fraud sparked a wave of violence that left over 1,100 people dead and 600,000 internally displaced.
In 2017, the Supreme Court accepted his appeal and called for a second round of voting, which Odinga boycotted claiming the necessary reforms had not been implemented. EFE
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