Court orders scrutiny and recount of votes for Embakasi South in petition by ODM’s Sumra Irshadali Mohamed

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High court has ordered scrutiny and recount of votes for Embakasi South member of National Assembly in a petition filed by ODM’s Sumra Irshadali Mohamed.

While delivering the ruling, Justice Grace Nzioka directed that the exercise shall be carried out under the supervision of the Deputy Registrar and presence of all the parties in the petition.

“The exercise shall be carried out in the presence of all parties and they are allowed to nominate at most two agents to be present,” ruled Justice Nzioka.

The judge said that scrutiny and recount is suitable for small margin difference of result as it is with the petitioner Sumra and the second respondent in the petition MP Julius Mawathe.

Through lawyers Francis Moriasi and Evans Ondieki, Sumra told the court the results in forms 34A, 34B and those in the IEBC portal are different.

While addressing the media after the ruling, Mawathe alleged that Sumra has already tampered with the ballot boxes as seen in a video on social media.

He said according to the video which has been adduced as exhibit in court, Sumra had access to the boxes for more than two hours.

The MP who vied on a Wiper Party ticket said the same boxes tampered with are the ones the petitioner wants to be scrutinized.

In the petition, Sumra who vied on an ODM ticket says that the Embakasi South MP elections were not free, fair and transparent.

He adds that the tallying of votes was marred by violence, intimidation, improper influence from the IEBC and was not administered in an impartial, neutral, efficient, accurate and accountable manner.

The Petitioner declares that in some stations, his agents were denied entry on the allegation that there were other agents in the stations representing ODM candidates yet there were only two agents while the independent candidates were six.

The petitioner avers that the rejected votes largely contain valid votes cast in his favour but were wrongly counted as rejected votes.