In the ruling, Kenyans will know if they will have a new president who will be sworn in before the end of the month or if they will head to the ballot again for a repeat presidential election.
All this now lies in the hands of Chief Justice Martha Koome, her deputy Philomena Mwili, Smokin Wanjala, Njoki Ndung’u, Isaac Lenaola, William Ouko and Mohamed Ibrahim.
As Kenyans patiently wait for the verdict, here are the possible orders that the bench will make.
1. Dismiss the petition.
The apex court may today dismiss the petition filed by the Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga thus upholding President-elect William Ruto’s victory. In the ruling, the judges will declare Ruto as the duly elected fifth president of the Republic of Kenya This will pave the way for the swearing-in, which should be done seven days after the day of the ruling.
2. Accept the petition.
The judges may also invalidate the orders made by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chabukati declaring Ruto the president-elect. This will set the stage for the nullification of the results and registered voters will go to the ballot again for a fresh presidential election. As required by the law, the fresh poll will be held within 60 days after the delivery of the judgement.
3. Payment of petition costs.
Whichever way the judges will rule on the petition, they will also give orders on payment of the petition costs. Based on the previous petitions, the bill runs to hundreds of millions of shillings. Most likely, should Ruto’s win be upheld, then the legal teams representing the outgoing deputy president and IEBC will be catered for by the petitioner.
4. Order swearing-in or repeat poll.
With respect to the above scenarios, Article 162 (2) of the Constitution states that the seven judge’s decision is final. So if Ruto’s win is upheld, Koome will order that he be sworn in on September 13.
William Ruto says he’ll respect the ruling:– As earlier reported, Ruto promised to respect any decision the Supreme Court will make in the presidential election petitions filed to challenge his win. Ruto noted that Kenyans voted in peace, and on the next day, they returned to their respective jobs, which showed a sense of maturity in the country.
“In this election, we have seen a very new phenomenon…That we all voted and the next day we were ready to go to work and go on with our lives, and everybody on to their hustle. That is the loud statement that is coming from the people of Kenya to those of us who are leaders,” said Ruto.
