Court upholds Aden Duale’s election victory
Aden Duale remains an MP for Garissa Town following High Court’s decision to uphold his August 8, 2017 election victory.
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Justice Hedwig Ongundi on Tuesday morning dismissed the petition filed by Duale’s opponent Farah Maalim at Milimani Law Court.
The petitioner, former National Assembly Deputy Speaker claimed that there were cases of voter bribery and improper transmission of results during the election.
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Judge Ong’udi however cleared the matter and said that Duale was fairly elected and that claims that some voters were denied a chance to vote was false.
The judge also dismissed Mr Maalim’s claim that Mr Duale influenced the recruitment of presiding officers and other poll officials.
The court directed Mr.Maalim to pay Sh6 million costs bill for the petition, the money that will be shared equally between the Aden Duale and Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
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Earlier on, Mr Duale defended his win maintaining that he beat Maalim fairly in the August 8 election. Duale said that all the results announced and declared at all polling stations in Garissa Township were correct and lawful adding that the results were a true reflection of the will of voters in the said constituency.
Duale garnered 22,587 votes against Maalim’s 14,897 votes, according to IEBC results.
After the win, Mr. Duale thanked his legal team headed lawyer Ahmed Nasir, adding that the rule of law that they believed in was now confirmed.
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Garissa Township is the constituency in northern part of Kenya with which has registered the largest number of voters.
