Kenya’s election managers are having sleepless nights as the focus turns to the judiciary to expedite resolution of disputes that arose from political parties’ primaries, and other election-related litigation.

There are concerns within the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) that an unprecedented number of disputes from the just concluded party nominations and other election-related cases could derail preparations for the general election if the legal battles are prolonged.

IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati led commissioners to a consultative meeting with Chief Justice David Maraga on Thursday to discuss how all election-related litigation could be fast-tracked to avoid delays.

“The disputes will definitely affect the polls preparations,” said IEBC communications manager Andrew Limo. “However, our chairman is working with the judiciary on how they can be fast-tracked.”

National tallying centre

The electoral body is also embroiled in a legal tussle with the opposition National Supper Alliance at the Court of Appeal over the declaration of election results.

While the IEBC is contesting a High Court ruling that allows results announced at the polling stations to be regarded as final, Nasa has warned that it will boycott the August 8 polls if the decision is reversed.

On April 7, High Court judges Aggrey Muchelule, Weldon Korir and Enoch Chacha Mwita, declared that the presidential election results at the constituency level as announced by the returning officers are final and should not be subjected to any alterations by the IEBC at the national tallying centre.

But, in an appeal notice, IEBC argued that the judges erred in their judgment and wants the decision reversed.

Justice Maraga is equally alarmed by the number of disputes arising from political parties’ primaries, which forced him to extend the working hours of the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal, which constitutes two benches with three judges each.

According to Justice Maraga, the high number of disputes filed is an indication of protracted legal battles that could even end up in the High Court, which if not handled expeditiously, could interfere with election preparations.

“As of Tuesday, we had 46 disputes that had been filed at the tribunal. I have been forced to sign orders, extending the working hours of the tribunal just to ensure they are cleared as fast as possible,” Justice Maraga told journalists in Nairobi.

The tribunal has cleared some disputes, where nomination of candidates have been revoked, meaning the affected political parties will have to go back to the drawing board to get fresh candidates ahead of the May 28 deadline, when IEBC is expected to receive the names of all candidates to pave the way for printing of ballot papers.

The disputes in political parties is likely to end up in High Court following divisions between the political parties’ elections boards and the internal dispute handling committees. For instance, the Orange Democratic Movement is facing a crisis as a result of bad blood between the elections board headed by Judith Pareno and the tribunal led by Willis Otieno.

The tribunal is said to have complained of disregard to its verdicts by the elections board, which has the mandate of clearing candidates to vie for political seats. This has seen some disputes filed at the Political Parties Tribunal.

In the Jubilee Party, there have been a push and pull between the teams, but consensus among some candidates has saved some situations. But some cases have gone to the tribunal.