Supreme Court judges. [Photo/The Star]
Monday 20 November is the constitutional deadline for a delivery of the verdict on the presidential petition challenging the second election of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
When the six-judge bench led by Chief Justice David Maraga reconvenes on Monday they may give answers to at least five key constitutional questions that have been challenged during the second presidential petition.
The first area that would be addressed is the answer to the question whether there was a constitutional requirement allowing IEBC to conduct the repeat polls without conducting fresh nominations.
Secondly, was the United Democratic Party candidate Cyrus Jirongo properly nominated and gazetted as is required by law because he had been initially left out and later brought back through a special gazette notice on November 24.
Third, the judges will also determine whether the withdrawal of NASA leader Raila Odinga and his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka affect the repeat polls. According to the petitioners, IEBC should have called for fresh nominations after NASA's withdrawal.
Fourth matter on the table for determination will be the effect on the October 26 election discrepancies and inconsistencies Mr Mue and Mr Khalifa noted in the result transmission forms, the claims of lack of integrity of the voters’ register, which they said exhibited different numbers at different times as well as the number of voters who were not identified biometrically.
Fifth, Maraga's team may determine whether claims of violence and intimidation on the voters as stated by the petitioners impacted on the credibility of the elections.
Finally, Maraga's team was challenged to nullify the elections if it did not meet the test of the law rather than considering public opinion which was the angle advanced by Uhuru Kenyatta's lawyer Fred Ngatia.