Blogger Itumbi Seeks Law On Rejected Votes

Internet blogger Dennis Itumbi addresses journalists at the St Pauls Cathedral Anglican church in Embu. The social media journalist had petitioned the Supreme Court over the IEBC’s decision to include rejected votes in its final tally.

BY TIMOTHY KARIUKI
MONDAY, 1 APRIL, 2013

Controversial blogger Dennis Itumbi now wants Parliament to pass legislation on the issue of rejected votes. Itumbi, who had gone to the Supreme Court seeking a ruling on the move by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to include rejected votes in its final tally, said the legislation will help in charting the way forward on election results handling.

“I urge parliamentarians to bring a Bill to the floor of the House and introduce an amendment to the Elections Act where rejected votes will no longer be included in the candidate’s total score,” he said. Speaking at St Paul’s Cathedral Anglican Church in Embu, Itumbi said Parliament should move expeditiously and ensure the enactment of the law is effected.

The blogger said the move will protect future generations to avoid the scenarios Kenyans were subjected to in the recent General Elections. Emerging heroes The court on Saturday granted the orders with Itumbi and Kuria emerging heroes following the historic ruling of their application.

The petitions by Itumbi, Moses Kuria and Florence Sergon were the only ones which were granted by the Supreme Court judges as the others filed by Raila Odinga and African Centre for Governance (Africog) were dismissed by the Mutunga-led court. The court, however, said it does not have powers to order a re-computation of the tallies meaning the ruling will apply progressively.