Otiende Amollo: No presidential candidate achieved 50 per cent plus 1 vote

Lawyer Otiende Amollo at the Supreme court building on Friday,July 02 during the hearing of the BBI appeal. [Collins Kweyu,Standard]

Day three of the hearing of the presidential petition at the Supreme Court saw the petitioners further tear into the responses given by IEBC.

The onslaught on the electoral body was further propagated by Senior Counsel Otiende Amollo appearing for Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga.

In his submissions, Otiende claims that none of the presidential candidates achieved the constitutional threshold of 50 per cent plus one of the vote.

"May it be noted, that the issue of voter turnout is a moving target, depending on who's speaking and in what circumstances. If you look at the replying affidavit of the [IEBC] Chairman, as of 9th August 5pm, he says the turnout was 64.6 per cent," said Otiende.

"The director of elections of that same date at that same time Moses Sunkuli says it was 56.17 per cent looking at the same KIEMS kits. The IEBC gives different figures and it is our submission that the premise upon which IEBC proceeds is wrong," he added.

According to Otiende, the reason for the said moving target is to manipulate the issue of voter turnout.

"The IEBC published a gazette notice that confirms the exact number of registered voters and gives it as 22,120,458. In this court, using what they say is the turnout per the KIEMS kit, the figure they are seeking to use is 22,005,541. That premise is problematic. The common denominator to be used is voter turnout as published in the gazette, not as per the KIEMS kit which ends up with the moving target," said Otiende. "By whatever permutation (and they are seven), none of the candidates then, achieved 50 per cent plus one vote, whether you remove or add rejected votes."

Otiende further added that it is unlawful and illogical to use the KIEMS kit voter turnout while questioning the stoppage of streaming of results at the National Tallying Centre.

"The one question they failed to answer, is why was there stoppage of the streaming of the results at Bomas? It is bad to have a sovereign institution that is captured by the state; but is worse to have one that is captured by foreigners," he said.

In his submissions, Otiende also claimed that IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati did not act in accordance to the constitution.

"The chairman of IEBC is a first among equals just like in this court. They are seven, just like the judges of this court. By the fact that you [Martha Koome] are the Chief Justice and president of this court, yet the constitution would not allow you to exercise veto powers over the other colleagues.

"Why would the IEBC chairman believe he can have such powers over the other colleagues? Ultimately, it is the decision of the majority that must be the decision of the court, and similarly to the IEBC," he said.