Mr. Mahama described the move as a “great show of statesmanship” in his comments on Twitter.

Great show of statesmanship.
Healing and reconciliation. Good for Kenya. pic.twitter.com/Ilq5oEcoaE

— John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) March 10, 2018

Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga spoke on national TV on Friday after holding their first public meeting since the poll.

President Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term last November after he won an election re-run in October, which Mr Odinga had boycotted.

In the election aftermath, about 150 people were killed and Mr Odinga subsequently swore himself in as the “people’s president” and refused to recognise election winner, Mr Kenyatta, as head of state.

They had both dismissed all calls for talks, from Kenyans and foreign diplomats but in their joint address, President Kenyatta referred to Mr Odinga as his “brother”.

Thier meeting notably occurred ahead of a visit by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who is expected to land in Nairobi for a three-day diplomatic tour.

Mr Mahama, has some stake in the matter as he led the Commonwealth observer mission to monitor the country’s polls.

He faced some ridicule and criticism after the Supreme Court overturned the results of the election following alleged malpractices, as free and fair.

Mr. Mahama, alongside other observer groups, had declared the August 8, 2017 elections which the incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta won, as free and fair, despite the irregularities alleged by Kenya’s opposition leader, Raila Odinga.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga spoke on national TV after holding their first public meeting since the poll.

About 150 people were killed in the aftermath of the disputed election.

Earlier this year, Mr Odinga swore himself in as the “people’s president” and refused to recognise election winner Mr Kenyatta as head of state.

Until now, both had dismissed all calls for talks, from Kenyans and foreign diplomats.

In their joint address, President Kenyatta referred to Mr Odinga as his “brother”.

Mr Kenyatta said: “We will begin a process of discussing what ails us and what creates division amongst us.”

Mr Odinga said it was “time to resolve our differences”.

President Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term last November. He won an election re-run in October, which Mr Odinga had boycotted.

Elections were first held in August but the courts ordered a re-run, saying Mr Kenyatta’s victory was marred by irregularities.

Mr Odinga said that nothing had been changed before the re-run.

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Source: BBC

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Jamhuri Day is a national holiday in Kenya, celebrated on 12 December each year to mark Kenya’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1963. Jamhuri is the Swahili word for “republic”.

This is not the first time John Mahama has graced the event, as in 2014, while President of Ghana, he attended the ceremony at the Nyayo National Stadium.

The two countries forged a strong relationship under the tenures of John Mahama and Uhuru Kenyatta with the former leading a Commonwealth Observer mission to monitor the recently held Kenya elections that eventually saw Kenyatta come out victorious.

Critics, however, said prior to the polls that Mahama’s close ties with Mr. Kenyatta could affect his objectivity in carrying out the duty.

2017 Jamhuri day celebration

The event, although successfully-held, recorded the lowest turnout in years as the opposition party, who had earlier boycotted the election run-off, refused to take part.

The 60,000 capacity Kasarani Sports Complex in Nairobi which hosted the event only had about 10,000 people in attendance.

Meanwhile, some political figures in Kenya have described the development as an embarrassment and called for those responsible for the low attendance to be “punished”.

Some Kenyans were also given national awards as part of the celebrations.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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All the eyes were on the Supreme Court judges led by Chief Justice David Maraga, who upheld Uhuru re-election to paving way for his swearing in for the second term in office.

The court nullified the August 8 election on account of illegalities and irregularities. Among the faults found by the highest court in the land is lack of proper transmission system and at the same time use of forms which did not have security features.

This time, the court unanimously upheld President Uhuru’s re-election throwing out the petitions on grounds that they were not merited.

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Source: Standardmedia.co.ke

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Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is seeking a second term, has urged people to vote and remain peaceful.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who has pulled out of the election re-run, has called on his supporters to boycott it.

Mr Kenyatta was announced the winner in an 8 August vote but the poll is being held again because of “irregularities”.

The polls on Thursday opened at 06:00 (03:00 GMT) with tens of thousands of police and other security personnel deployed to protect voters and polling stations.

One voter in Nairobi’s Mathare slum, taxi driver David Njeru, 26, told the AFP news agency: “It is my duty to vote. Last time the queue was all around the block and I waited six hours to vote, this time the people are few.”

On the eve of the vote, Mr Kenyatta urged people to cast their ballots: “Our forefathers fought and died for the right of the African to vote, we dare not reject this inheritance.”

As the polling stations opened their doors, opposition protesters attempted to block roads in parts of Nairobi’s Kibera slum, with riot police using tear gas in a bid to disperse the crowds.

The announcement by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) of Mr Kenyatta’s victory on 8 August led to inflammatory rhetoric and attacks on the body.

Last week, a senior member of the IEBC fled to the US amid death threats.

About 70 people have been killed in violence since Mr Kenyatta was declared the winner in August’s election.

Mr Odinga had wanted the repeat ballot to be held at a later date, but a bid to delay the election re-run fell apart after only two out of seven Supreme Court judges attended a hearing on Wednesday.

One judge, Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, failed to appear after her bodyguard was shot and wounded by unknown gunmen on Tuesday.

What went wrong in August?

Kenya’s Supreme Court took the unprecedented decision to annul the August presidential election and demand a re-run in September citing “irregularities and illegalities”.

Chief Justice David Maraga said the election had not been “conducted in accordance with the constitution” and declared it “invalid, null and void”.

He said the verdict, which was backed by four of the six Supreme Court judges, found that the IECB had committed irregularities “in the transmission of results”.

The court said the result was “neither transparent nor verifiable”.

The court ruling did not attribute any blame to President Kenyatta’s party or campaign.

The ruling raised tensions, with rival protests in support of and against the court.

There were running battles between police firing tear gas and stone-throwing protesters in the city of Kisumu, an opposition stronghold, on Wednesday.

‘We want a better election’

Mr Odinga has said that the IECB has failed to make the changes needed to prevent a repeat of the mistakes that marred the earlier poll, although the IECB disputes this.

His opposition coalition – the National Super Alliance (Nasa) – made clear its participation in the election was contingent on reforms being made.

Mr Odinga has vowed to disrupt Thursday’s vote and has called for “massive” demonstrations, but asked his supporters to stay away from polling stations in an attempt to avoid violent clashes.

In a statement earlier this month, he accused the government of instituting a “dictatorship”, adding: “We are going to win the battle for a free and fair election”.

“Our opponents want an election for the sake of it, we want a better election,” he said.

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Source: BBC

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Mr Odinga said his withdrawal would give the electoral commission enough time to introduce reforms that will help deliver a more credible election.

The Supreme Court annulled the result of the original 8 August poll after finding irregularities and declaring it “neither transparent or verifiable”.

[contextly_sidebar id=”3zVIpVhqXUojdWJtTkeEFFWRi1MvRKm3″]The electoral commission had declared incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta the winner.

It said Mr Kenyatta had won by a margin of 1.4 million votes.

The re-run was due to take place on 26 October, but Mr Odinga said: “After deliberating on our position in respect of the upcoming election, considering the interests of the people of Kenya, the region and the world at large, we believe that all will be best served by the party vacating its presidential candidature in the election scheduled for 26 October 2017.”

Odinga threatens re-run election boycott

Mr. Odinga in September threatened to boycott the election re-run  if he did not get “constitutional guarantees”.

He told journalists that the fresh vote must be held in an environment where everything that went wrong can be corrected.

“We know exactly what transpired in these last elections, we know what the IEBC did and we know that if we were to go back there will be no different results and that’s why will say there will be no elections on the 17 October,” he said.

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By: BBC

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In a statement issued after a meeting with other members of the Judicial Service Commission, Mr Maraga said : “If leaders are tired of having a strong and independent Judiciary, they should call a referendum and abolish it all together.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”OSzVsXXeOD7gXuvTmiirrFUzTGft91jJ”]“Before that happens, the judiciary will continue to discharge its mandate in accordance with the Constitution and individual oaths of office.”

Mr. Maraga further condemned what he described as attacks on Kenya’s judicial officers and staff, saying “these attacks are denigrating, demeaning and degrading and are meant to intimidate, threaten and cow the institution and individual judges.”

He added that “such acts are not only unlawful but also savage in nature. In view of these unfortunate developments, JSC would like to state that we unreservedly condemn these mindless acts of aggression against the judiciary and reiterate that if anything happens to the individual judges, staff or their families, those making inciting statement will be personally held responsible.”

Mr. Maraga led a six member team of judges to invalidate the August election that put President Uhuru Kenyatta ahead of his NASA opponent, Raila Odinga.

The judgement was given after NASA leader, Raila Odinga filed a petition against Mr. Kenyatta’s election , arguing that process through which the transmission of presidential vote results was done did not conform with constitution.

The decision to annul the election was an unprecedented move in Africa where governments often hold power over judges.

Following the Supreme Court’s judgement, Mr. Kenyatta had vowed to “fix” the court if re-elected, since in his view his country had “a problem” with its judiciary.

“We shall revisit this thing. We clearly have a problem,” Mr Kenyatta said of the judiciary .

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Supreme Court annulled last month’s vote, citing irregularities. It was won by the incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta.

French firm OT-Morpho says it needs to reinstall the complex voting system for the scheduled re-run on 17 October.

But it said the “significant amount of work” cannot be finished in time.

Details of the potential delay for October’s re-run emerged in a letter from OT-Morpho to the electoral commission, obtained by Reuters news agency. An election official also confirmed the potential delay to the BBC.

The letter, dated 18 September, said two different electronic systems used in the vote would have to be reinstalled for a re-run.

More than 45,000 computer tablets were provided to Kenyan officials to identify voters – using fingerprints and photos – before allowing them to vote.

The tablets were also responsible for the secure transmission of election results, the company said in an April press release.

Irregularities in the transmission of results was one of the problems referenced by the Supreme Court when it annulled the August poll’s results. But more precise details have yet to be released ahead of the court’s full report, due on Thursday.

In addition to the technology problems, opposition candidate Raila Odinga – set to contest the election against Mr Kenyatta – has said he will not take part in the re-run unless members of the country’s electoral commission are replaced.

The commission has reportedly arranged a meeting with both candidates on Wednesday to discuss potential problems ahead of the poll.

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Source: BBC

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Last week, the Supreme Court annulled August’s election result saying the electoral commission (IEBC) had not followed the constitution.

Incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner by the IEBC.

The court said a new election needs to be held by 31 October.

Speaking to journalists, Mr Odinga said that the fresh vote must held in an environment where everything that went wrong can be corrected.

“We know exactly what transpired in these last elections, we know what the IEBC did and we know that if we were to go back there will be no different results and that’s why will say there will be no elections on the 17 October,” he said.

Mr Odinga’s opposition Nasa alliance went to the Supreme Court to challenge President Kenyatta’s win arguing that the results had been tampered with during transmission from the polling stations.

They alleged that someone gained access to the IEBC’s computer servers to tweak the results in favour of Mr Kenyatta.

The court found that, among other things, the IEBC had committed “illegalities” in the transmission of results. But as it has not released its full ruling it is still not clear exactly what went wrong.

The Supreme Court said on Friday that it would make its full ruling public within 21 days.

Opposition supporters celebrated the court’s annulment of August’s election result

Mr Odinga wants the IEBC to strictly follow the constitution’s guidance on conducting elections.

He also wants some of the commissioners to be sacked, alleging that they are partisan, and he is pushing for access to IEBC’s electronic voting and result transmission system.

Mr Odinga criticised the IEBC for announcing the new election date saying that opposition parties had not been consulted.

Nasa sent a letter to the IEBC arguing that the date for the fresh election “should be a product of consultation with concerned parties and not a unilateral decision”.

President Kenyatta said that though he respected the Supreme Court’s decision he disagreed with it

The opposition leader alleged that the election date was set by the governing Jubilee Party.

Mr Odinga also faulted the IEBC for saying that the new election will just be between him and Mr Kenyatta. There were eight candidates on the ballot paper in August.

“The entire election was cancelled by the Supreme Court,” he said. “So it means that you do a repeat of the presidential elections afresh.”

For his part, President Kenyatta said last Friday that while he respected the court’s annulment of the election he disagreed with the decision.

Speaking to supporters later that day, at an impromptu rally in the capital, Nairobi, he described Chief Justice David Maraga as a “crook”. On Saturday he vowed to “fix” the Supreme Court if he was re-elected.

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Source: BBC

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This is great news for a country that has gradually moved from autocracy to democracy. By this judgement, Kenya, has set the pace for entrenchment of justice and democracy, while providing lessons for autocratic countries that are yet to experience democracy in any form.

The election and the court’s judgement in itself have presented very critical lessons that cannot be ignored.

Supreme Court’s cojones: The Supreme Court’s judgement that saw an annulment of the election is very impressive. It is historic. Never has an African court invalidated a presidential election. In Ghana, the then Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party , Nana Akuffo- Addo lost the election petition case filed in 2013, after losing to then President John Mahama in 2012. Zambia’s Constitutional Court also dismissed the petition filed by the opposition’s United Party for National Development (UPND) against the re-election of President Edgar Lungu. In 2016, the Ugandan Supreme Court dismissed Amama Mbambazi’s petition against the election of President Museveni. The same apex court dismissed Besigye’s appeal against Museveni’s election both in 2001 and 2006.  In most cases, there are needless delays in the dispensation of electoral disputes which have become an albatross in the electoral process in many African countries.

Odinga’s resilience rewarded:This was actually Kenya’s opposition leader, Raila Odinga’s fourth attempt at the presidency and the second time of filing an election petition. Taking a decision to contest an election for four consecutive times is not an easy task. Odinga however decided to toe this path despite the tendency of losing to his opponent. And when he lost this year’s election, he refused to back down and just like he did in 2013, he went to court one more time to challenge the results. His resilience is indeed an inspiration.

Role of international observer missions: The critical role international observer missions play in elections cannot be overemphasized. Their accounts on elections are mostly held in high esteem since there is the firm belief that they are objective and fair.  In fact , the mission for US NGO , the Carter Centre’s positive assessment of the 2017 Kenya election was used in the court. It is therefore necessary for international observer missions to exercise restraint in passing premature judgement on elections as this could possibly set the precedent for violence.

The IEBC’s role: The court had stated that the election was marred by not only irregularities but also illegalities and was not conducted in accordance with the constitution. If it is subsequently established that the results were tampered with then the IEBC officials should be held responsible. It would be inexcusable for a body tasked with the responsibility of facilitating free, fair, credible and verifiable elections to be compromised. Hacking claims by National Super Alliance (NASA) should be thoroughly investigated.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

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