Garissa County Senator Mohamed Yusuf Haji has testified that he won the August 2017 elections fairly.
Testifying before Justice Rose Ougo, Haji accused the petitioners challenging his election for falsely misleading the court that they were candidates in the election.
“The petitioners claims that they were senatorial candidates in the August 8, 2017 General election are untrue,” the senator said.
The senator said there were only seven candidates who did not include the petitioners.
While being re-examined by his lawyer Protus Saende, Haji said the petitioners were neither party nominated candidates nor Independent candidates.
“None of the other six candidates who contested for the senatorial seat filed any petition and the six had agents on the ground who can be called to state who the candidates were in the election,” he added.
He said the petitioners did not obtain authorization or consent for them to file the petition in representative capacity on behave of the other six candidates.
The Senator said that a person who is not candidate can not lodge a competent election petition to challenge the outcome of the election.
The judge also allowed the petitioners application for scrutiny and recount of votes for the senatorial election, which had earlier been dismissed.
Through their lawyer, the petitioners wanted the order to be reinstated and heard on merit.
The first petitioner Abdikadir Farah mohamed who has been unable to attend court had swore an affidavit for the order of scrutiny.
The Senator was testifying in the petition where three petitioners, Hussein Issa Abdi, Abdikadir Farah Mohamed and Mohamed Aden Abdi, challenged his victory saying it was marred with irregularities and violence.
The court heard that there was no campaigning by his agents during the voting day, saying the law does not provide any display of pictures or placards when the election is taking place.
