Supreme Court final arbiter for justice, democracy
By PD columnist, August 23, 2022Lawyers for Azimio-One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga yesterday filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the August 9 presidential election results.
The action disputing the controversial announcement by Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati declaring Deputy President William Ruto President-elect confirms that the nation is still sharply divided.
Raila’s petition resurrects the credibility ghost continuing to haunt IEBC and our electoral system regarding strict adherence to electoral rules since the Supreme Court annulled the 2017 presidential election for not being conducted according to the dictates of the Constitution.
The ruling was a sharp indictment of the commission and a major setback to far-reaching electoral reforms recommended by the Kriegler Commission for this sacred national democratic exercise following the 2007/2008 post-election violence after disputed presidential election results.
Few expected IEBC to again find itself in another volatile situation compounded by polarized political protagonists. Yet IEBC is on the dock again over the conduct of its core mandate of delivering an electoral process that withstands the prescribed legal benchmark. The sacred need of making elections fair, free, impartial, transparent and inclusive is the real identity of genuine democracy, as failure risks plunging the nation into a monumental crisis. Kenyans are entitled to an electoral process that upholds the ideals of truth, the supreme law (the Constitution) and the dictates of our National Anthem that so aptly states: “Let justice be our shield and defender…May we dwell in unity, peace and liberty”.
In our restless and politically divided nation, Chebukati’s announcement, denounced by a majority of commissioners, has exposed IEBC’s soft underbelly in a highly competitive, deceitful and convoluted multi-party system governed by a statutory set of norms.
It raises fundamental moral questions on IEBC’s accountability, human resource and technological capacity to secure its sacred mandate. Unsettled questions on the integrity and ethical values of the election processes cast serious doubts on the veracity of declared results. Driven by political and economic power opportunism, old habits die hard. One side of the divide, boasting an unbridled sense of entitlement, is wielding a dangerous “winner-takes-it-all, our way or no other way” mentality – defying the gravitational pull toward genuine democracy and national cohesion in our multi-ethnic society.
Thankfully, Kenyans have achieved a level of political maturity experienced in their peaceful, democratic participation in the recent elections. Justice cannot ignore the possibility that someone, no matter their power or stature in society, could have lied, cheated, or stolen in an election.
Congratulations citizens (voters) for your devotion to the pillars of our Constitution anchored in the doctrine of the separation of powers between the Judiciary, the Executive and the Legislature as the tenets of democracy and justice. Within this democratic and institutional framework, the nation and the world will over the next 14 days keenly watch the Supreme Court perform its sacrosanct duty as the final arbiter in dispensing justice to faithful citizens. Like Caesar’s wife, the Bench must be above reproach.
Universal suffrage and electoral laws serve the purpose of assuring every member of the electorate of the fidelity of his/her vote, ensuring the vote is truly a proxy for participation in governance. The Supreme Court must respond to the loud voices for the total continuous reformative overhaul of our electoral system to get rid of ethical, integrity and procedural practices that pose a threat to the truth, democracy and national values.
—The writer comments on political and justice affairs — albertoleny@gmail.com