AU chief says Kenyan court ruling to nullify presidential vote “does honour to Africa”
The African Union chairperson Alpha Conde has reacted to the Kenyan top court’s decision to annul the August 8 presidential election result, saying it “does honour to Africa.”
The ruling was issued on Friday by a panel of six judges of the Supreme Court; four ruling to annul the result while two ruled to uphold it.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission on August 11 declared President Uhuru Kenyatta winner of the presidential vote with 54.27 percent of the votes cast against opposition leader Raila Odinga’s 44.74 percent.
The opposition NASA coalition rejected the results, initially saying they would not contest them in court. They however had a change of heart later and filed a petition at the Supreme Court.
Speaking on Monday, Conde said the ruling is proof that Africa does have democracy.
“This is behaviour that does honour to Africa and proves that democracy is now installed on the continent,” he said.
He also said that the AU “appreciates the spirit of maturity and responsibility shown by all parties to the process, who preferred legal channels to violence.”
President Uhuru accepted the court’s ruling, though he said he disagreed with it.
“I disagree with the ruling because millions of Kenyans queued, made their choices, and six people have decided that they will go against the will of the people,” he said.
The new election dates are set to be released later this week, though the Supreme Court ordered that the vote be held 60 days after the ruling.
