By Mohamed Wato
Are you waiting for a Presidential inauguration or a repeat election? Wait for a white or black smoke from the Supreme Court.
The Cord coalition has now moved to court with the petition to challenge the declaration of Uhuru Kenyatta as the President elect by the IEBC. Court matters and politics are two different things. The public can sway the course of politics but can do very little, if anything, to interfere with the bench.
What counts before the jury particularly in this case, is the remedy being sought by the aggrieved party against the evidence adduced and the provision of the law. The burden of proof lies with the respondent and Cord lawyers know too well that they must go beyond hearsay to demonstrate the misgivings by IEBC and fraud they ( CORD) claim took place.
It instructive to note, this petition is coming at a time when the Judiciary is priding itself as a reformed institution, a sharp contrast from its past reputation.
The need to preserve national cohesion and unity might play into the hands of Supreme Court judges to overturn presidential election results, and rule a repeat election to appease supporters from across the divide and give Kenyans another chance to determine their destiny through a credible poll.
What this portends is an equal chance for both Uhuru and Raila to be upset by a court decision that might not work in their favour. It is therefore wise for all parties to get prepared for the worst case scenario and to prepare their supporters in the event of unfavorable outcome.
And in case the Supreme Court decides to revoke the results of presidential elections based on the merits arising from the scale of irregularities, then the fundamental issue of concern is who plays the oversight role to support and inject some level of confidence into an electoral commission that has failed to conduct its operation in an impartial manner.
Eventually, it is a matter of time and Kenya will move on.
Mohamed Wato is a former military officer and analyst
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