NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 31- Lawyer Paul Mwangi says the requirement to declare the presidential election results does not give the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman veto power to tally, verify or even reach a decision as to what he is to declare.
Mwangi who is representing Azimio leader Raila Odinga and Martha Karua in the presidential petition on Wednesday said Chebukati disrespected the constitution by acting as a supervisor of elections and making unilateral decisions.
He said that the IEBC chairperson is not the commission, and that he is supposed to act with the rest of the commissioners to deliver a proper constitutional decision.
“There was an attempt by the Chairman of the IEBC to take away the collegial nature of decision making at the Commission,” he said.
According to Mwangi, Chebukati committed an illegality by declaring the presidential results without the support of a majority of commissioners, hence making it unconstitutional.
“It is our position that Mr. Wafula Chebukati has disrespected the constitution, has been unable to secure the legitimate result of an election that was conducted,” he said.
Lawyer Mwangi noted that the chairperson’s constitutional mandate to declare presidential results doesn’t give him the power to tally and verify results.
Mwangi said that it is only in article 138 (10) where the chairman is asked to declare the result of the commission’s decision.
He also submitted that all commissioners are equal, and that the chair cannot treat the members as subordinates.
“There is no way the chairman of a commission can treat other members of the commission as subordinates because they have almost the same qualifications and enjoy the same security of tenure,” he said.
Mwangi further highlighted the question on who to believe in the two factions of the commission.
“In terms of deciding who to believe, Chebukati has not had a complaint to make as to how the four commissioners worked ever since they entered the commission. On the other hand, there is a list of complaints about him that start way back from 2017,” he said.
