IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati. Photo: The Star
The decision by a three judge bench- Chacha Mwita, Weldon Korir, and Aggrey Muchelule that presidential results announced at constituency are final has been termed as "a recipe for chaos" by IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati.
"I was dismayed by that rulling for the simple reason that presidential results are supposed to be announced at the tallying center by the national returning officer, who is the chairman of the IEBC. That is very clear in the law," said Chebukati.
Chebukati questioned the authenticity of the results from constituencies saying there are lacunas that the information may harbour mistakes.
"What if they make mistakes? We have filled an appeal and hope the Court of Appeal will dispose of the matter in good time before election date because it will be a recipe for a lot of problems than answers," he added.
Despite, Chebukati's outcry, NASA brigade and their flag bearer Raila Odinga hailed the decision by the courts terming it a measurement to prevent rigging in the August polls.
"The results declared by the returning officers are final. There should be no super returning officer sitting in Nairobi purporting to tally the results. The work of the national office should and will be to add results from the 290 constituencies," said Raila.
In 2013 and 2017 Raila claimed that election results were being doctored at the IEBC national tallying center at the Bomas of Kenya but they were dismissed by the Supreme court led by former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga.
However, Chebukati remained optimistic that his team will deliver credible results and on August 9th Kenyans will resume their daily activities with satisfaction that IEBC delivered.