Presidential election petition timelines according to the Supreme Court

After casting their vote, Kenyans are now glued to their TVs, phones, and newspapers awaiting the results of the August 9 Presidential election.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Monday morning, six days after the elections, announced they had completed the verification of Forms 34A and 34B signalling that the announcement of the Presidential results is imminent.

The final tallies from IEBC will not only determine who Kenya’s elected president is, but also pose a dilemma on whether the three (Waihiga Mwaure conceded defeat) Presidential candidates in the race will be satisfied with the results, or there might be an election petition as witnessed in the previous elections.

After the 2017 General Election Raila Odinga filed a petition at the Supreme Court, where Former Chief Justice David Maraga ruled that the August 8 General Election was marred with illegalities and regularities.

This rendered the General Election null and void, prompting Kenyans to go back to the ballot for a repeat election on October 26, where Uhuru Kenyatta emerged the winner.

With the declaration of the Presidential results now hours away, here are the timelines for a Presidential petition according to the Supreme Court.

• The petition challenging the results should be filed within seven days from the declaration of the results by IEBC. This means that if Wafula Chebukati announces the Presidential results today, a candidate who wishes to challenge them should file a petition before August 22, 2022.
• 24 hours after filing the petition, the petitioner is supposed to serve the respondent.
• A response to the petition should be filed and served within 4 days after the respondent was served.
• In 24 hours after a response to the petition was filed a rejoinder should be filed and served.
• Interlocutory applications should be filed and served within 24 hours from filing the response to the petition.
• 24 hours after the date of filing and service of an interlocutory application, a response to the interlocutory applications should be filed and served.
•  Third-party applications should be filed and served 24 hours from the date of filing a response to the petition.
• A Pre-trial Conference will be held 8 days from the date of filing the Presidential election petition.
• Immediately after the pre-trial conference, hearing of the petition will take place in the Supreme Court.
• The petition will then be determined 14 days from the day it was filed.