IIEC calls off Kamukunji poll

Celebrating the ruling: Mr Paul Waweru Mwangi (centre), a National Vision Party (NVP) aspirant, who went to court seeking to block the elections arguing that he had been denied a chance to contest the seat by Kamukunji returning officer, Mr Masindet Joseph Leboo

By WALTER MENYA
Posted  Saturday, May 21 2011 at 16:00

The Interim Independent Electoral Commission has called off the Kamukunji by election.

IIEC Chairman Isaack Hassan said Saturday that the electoral body will, however, move to the Court of Appeal to seek relief after a judge stopped the mini poll in a Friday ruling.

Mr Hassan said the court's decision has set a bad precedent and that the petition was filed in bad faith.

On Friday, High Court judge Daniel Musinga stopped the by-election on grounds that the nomination process for candidates was “seriously” flawed.

“If the court were to endorse the manner in which the IIEC’s conducted the nomination, it would mean that a returning officer can be influenced by a party or other candidates to reject nomination papers of another candidate,” he ruled.

Mr Paul Waweru Mwangi, a National Vision Party (NVP) aspirant, had gone to court seeking to block the polls arguing that he had been denied a chance to contest the seat by the Kamukunji returning officer, Mr Masindet Joseph Leboo.

The court also found that IIEC had conducted nomination in a manner that violated Mr Mwangi’s constitutional right.

Mr Mwangi, who filed the case against the commission had told the court that the officer had acted under pressure from the PNU, which feared that should he contest, he would dilute the party’s candidate, Mr Yussuf Hassan’s vote.

Justice Musinga stopped the by-election stating that the IIEC violated the aspirant’s constitutional right to be a candidate in the by-election.

“If the court, having found that the nomination exercise was seriously flawed, fails to grant an order of injunction to restrain the respondents from holding the by-election,” the judge said, “it will be frustrating all the gains that have so far been made in our electoral process.”

He granted an injunction against IIEC stopping them “from holding, directing, conducting or otherwise supervising the Parliamentary by-election of Kamukunji Constituency scheduled for May 23, until the petition is heard and determined.”