High Court Nullifies Electoral Law Amendments Introduced by Jubilee MPs

The High Court has declared as invalid the radical amendments introduced on the election law by Jubilee Members of Parliament in October, 2017.

The changes were made after the Kenya Supreme Court annulled President Kenyatta’s August 8th, 2017 victory on grounds of irregularities and illegalities in the process.

In his ruling, Justice Chacha Mwita said the  Constitution remains the country's supreme law and any interference with it can't be tolerated. In a petition lodged by Katiba Institute, Judge Mwita declared the amendments as “unconstitutional and invalid”.

The changes pushed by Jubilee MPs gave precedence to manual transmission of election results and reduced the quorum of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to three.

“They have the effect of weakening rather than strengthening our electoral process, any amendments meant to circumvent the constitutional principles are unconstitutional,” ruled Justice Chacha.

This comes months after Jubilee used its numerical strength in Parliament to approve the amended laws.

“Rather than a step forward, it’s a draw back in the pursuit of a free election,” ruled Justice Mwita.

“You can’t have results that are streamed live but are of no value in the final declaration of results, it’s a mockery of democracy,” said Justice Mwita.

Jubilee also altered the electoral commission Act to provide that its vice chairperson takes over as acting Chairperson in his absence, but Justice Chacha ruled: “The provision will weaken the functions of the chairperson and cause unnecessary tension, members of the commission may take advantage of the chairperson’s absence to make decisions that have a fundamental effect on the entire country."