Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga has discredited the results of the August 9, presidential election saying the announcement of the results have dealt a major setback on democracy in the country.

Speaking at the Kenyatta International Conference Center on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Odinga said Azimio la Umoja will contest the outcome of the elections at the Supreme Court.

Mr Odinga also faulted the chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Wafula Chebukati saying the figures he announced are null and void and that he should be charged in a court of law.
“Kenya faces a grave legal and political crisis. What happened yesterday was a travesty and blatant disregard of the laws of Kenya by Mr Chebukati,” Mr Odinga said, adding that “We totally reject the presidential results announced yesterday by Mr Chebukati.”

Mr Odinga also said he is exploring all constitutional and legal means to settle the matter and urged Azimio supporters to remain calm.
This development comes barely 24 hours after IEBC declared Kenya Kwanza Alliance presidential candidate William Ruto as the president elect. According to IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati, DP Ruto garnered 7,176,141 votes against Mr Odinga’s 6,942,930 votes.

Already, a section of leaders in the Azimio la Umoja have hinted that there were plans of the coalition to move to court to challenge the outcome of the elections. First was Ms Martha Karua who was Mr Odinga’s running mate.
“It is not over till it is over,” she tweeted.

Chebukati officially gazettes William Ruto as President-Elect
Other leaders from the coalition who have also disputed the outcome include Siaya Governor James Orengo, Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o, Narc party leader Ms Charity Ngilu and MP Otiende Amollo.
This is not the first time Mr Odinga has challenged the outcome of an election in the Supreme Court.

In 2017, he twice challenged the election of president Uhuru Kenyatta. In the first petition a decision was made that the presidential election be repeated while in the second the matter was thrown out of the Supreme Court.
With the announcement made by Mr Odinga, it means that his lawyers should file their case at the Supreme Court latest on Monday, August 22, 2022.
24 hours after filing the petition, the petitioner is supposed to serve the respondent and in return the respondent should file their rejoinder within four days.
According to the Supreme Court, the Interlocutory applications should be filed and served within 24 hours from the time the response of the petition has been filed.

A response to the interlocutory application should be served within 24 hours and incase of interest from a third party then they also have 24 hours from when the response has been made to file a petition.
A pretrial conference is then held eight days from the date of filing of the Presidential election petition and after that the hearing will kick off.
The petition is then determined by the Supreme Court judges in 14 days.

It is worth noting that in DP Ruto’s victory speech he said that he was willing to cooperate with the losers of the elections just in case they disputed the outcome in court.
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