• The previous election cycles were marred by cases of electoral violence by competing opponents but the 2022 election saw very few cases of violence reported.
• According to a report by the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji, violence and intimidation were the most reported election-related offences.
Image: FILE
Every election cycle in Kenya comes with the good, bad and ugly.
This is in terms of affecting people’s daily lives and creating a long-term effect that will last five years from their choice of leaders.
Here, we are just from another election cycle that brought out the usual good and bad.
The Star will have a look at what happened differently in the 2022 general elections compared to the previous two, under the 2010 Constitution.
While the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections saw Kenya have at least eight candidates vying for the country’s top job, the 2022 contest had only four reach the ballot.
This is despite 51 individuals showing interest in vying for the presidency but were disqualified because they did not meet certain requirements in the Elections Act.
The previous election cycles were marred by cases of electoral violence by competing opponents but the 2022 election saw very few cases of violence reported.
According to a report by the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji, violence and intimidation were the most reported election-related offences.
In data seen by the Star, the DPP stated that as of August 11, 2022, these offences accounted for 22 per cent of reported cases.
These offences were followed by bribery related to elections at 14 per cent while voter offences and hate speech cases were reported at 12 per cent.
Incidences of post-election violence that were experienced in the 2013 and 2017 general elections largely by supporters of the losing candidate were not reported in 2022.
However, the opposition leader has announced a series of planned rallies which could turn into public protests against President William Ruto’s government.
While other election cycles saw the IEBC experience massive cases of Kiems kit failure across the country, very few cases were reported in 2022 and from very few locations.
The 2013 and 2017 transmission of result challenges experienced by the electoral agency were a thing of the past in this year’s election.
All stations successfully transmitted their results via the electronic system, despite the fact that the counting was manual. This saves a lot of time.
In the three presidential elections, the losing side has always moved to the Supreme Court to challenge the outcome and in 2013, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto’s election was upheld by the apex court.
In 2017, however, this worked out differently and the opposition proved that there were gaps that had been overlooked by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission that needed to be fixed.
Here there were only four issues to be determined;
- Whether the 2017 Presidential Election was conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the constitution and the law relating to elections.
- Whether there were irregularities and illegalities committed in the conduct of the 2017 presidential election.
- If there were irregularities and illegalities, what was their impact, if any, on the integrity of the election?
- What consequential orders, declarations and reliefs should this Court grant if any?
A repeat poll was called but Raila refused to take part, calling for further reforms including in the electoral agency.
In the 2022 presidential result petitions, the Supreme Court settled on nine key issues for determination after consolidating them, Chief Justice Martha Koome said.
"The court having considered the printings that were filed, the submissions and all documents that were filed we have framed nine issues," Koome said.
They include;
- Whether the technology deployed by IEBC met standards of integrity, verifiability, security and transparency to guarantee accurate and verifiable results.
- Whether there was interference with the uploading and transmission of forms 34A from polling stations to the IEBC public portal.
- Whether there was a difference between forms 34A uploaded in the portal and those received at the National Tallying Centre and forms 34A issued to agents at polling stations.
- Whether postponement of gubernatorial elections in Kakamega and Mombasa counties, parliamentary elections in Kitui Rural, Kacheliba, Rongai and Pokot South and Nyaki West and Mukuru kwa Njenga wards resulted in voter suppression to the detriment of the petitioners in petition number E005/2022.
- Whether there were unexplained discrepancies between votes cast for presidential candidates and other positions.
- Whether IEBC carried out verification, tallying and declaration of results in accordance with provisions of articles 138 (3) (c) and 138 (10).
- Whether the declared president-elect attained 50 per cent plus one vote of the total votes cast in accordance with article 138 (4) of the Constitution.
- Whether there were irregularities and illegalities of such magnitude as to affect the final result of the presidential election.
- What reliefs and orders can this court (Supreme Court) issue?
In its decision, however, the highest court in the land ruled that the petitioners had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt any of the allegations they had brought before the court.
With judgement, it was all systems go for the swearing-in of Kenya’s fifth President William Ruto.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)