FACT CHECK :Does Juliana Cherera's 0.01% Amount to 142,000 Votes?

IEBC Vice Chairperson Juliana Cherera during an IEBC briefing at the Bomas of Kenya on Monday, August 1, 2022. (1).jpg
IEBC Vice Chairperson Juliana Cherera during an IEBC briefing at the Bomas of Kenya on Monday, August 1, 2022.
Kenyans.co.ke

On Tuesday, August 16, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Vice Chairperson, Juliana Cherera, issued a statement in which she claimed that there was a discrepancy in the presidential votes. 

Speaking during a press briefing at Serena, Cherera flagged the total percentage of the votes of the candidates arguing that it tallied to 100.01 per cent.

Cherera underlined that the 0.01 per cent translated to 142,000 unaccounted votes. However, a fact check by Kenyans.co.ke revealed that 0.01 per cent of the total votes amount to only 1,421 votes. 

If Cherera would have emphasised 0.01 as a decimal rather than a percentage, then 0.01 as decimal amounts to 142,131 votes as she claimed. However, in her speech sent to media houses, Cherera also insisted on 0.01 per cent which equals to 1,421 votes as aforementioned. 

From left: Former IEBC Commissioners Molu Boya, Juliana Cherera and Chair Wafula Chebukati during a prayer meetuing at the Bomas of Kenya on Wednesday, August 3, 2022.
From left: Former IEBC Commissioners Molu Boya, Juliana Cherera and Chair Wafula Chebukati during a prayer meeting at the Bomas of Kenya on Wednesday, August 3, 2022.
IEBC

Further, when Chebukati announced the results, Roots party candidate George Wajackoyah garnered 61,969 votes, which amounted to 0.44 per cent of the total valid votes cast.

On the other hand Agano flagbearer, David Mwaure bagged 31,987 was tallied to be 0.23 per cent of the vote.

The sum total of their percentage, 0.67, totals 93956 votes. Therefore, Cherera's figure of 142,000 votes for 0.01 per cent is mathematically incorrect.

Cherera lead a team of four commissioners including Francis Wanderi, Irene Masit and Justus Nyang’aya to denounce the results announced by Chebukati on August 15.

The IEBC Vice Chairperson also raised a red flag over the failure of the national returning officer to disclose the number of rejected votes and the total valid votes cast.

"The percentage is a total of all numbers 7.7 million of Ruto translates to 50.49 per cent then it was 50.49 per cent of what. Take notice that Chebukati says Raila attained 25 per cent of votes in 34 counties while Ruto attained 25 per cent in 39 counties.

"Which figures constituted the variables of the percentages?" Cherera posed.

In addition, she not only accused Chebukati of announcing the election prematurely but also of not allowing them to verify the final results before they were announced.

"We concluded that the process that went into the generation of Form 34 C used to declare Ruto was opaque. By the time Wafula Chebukati declared the results, verification from certain constituencies had not been announced," stated Cherera.

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati releasing the presidential election results at Bomas of Kenya on August 15, 2022
IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati releasing the presidential election results at Bomas of Kenya on August 15, 2022
Kenyans.co.ke

Azimio La Umoja flagbearer, Raila Odinga, also claimed that IEBC chairperson, Wafula Chebukati, contravened the law by announcing the results alone rather than seeking confirmation from the four differing colleagues. 

"We were shocked to learn that Chebukati decide alone to name the winner of the 2022 election. He denied all the commissioners access to the results,” Raila stated.

“Our view in Azimio is clear. The numbers announced by Chebukati are null and void and must be quashed by a court of law. There is no winner or president-elect. That was gross impunity," Raila added.

IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati, Kenya Kwanza alliance and Deputy President William Ruto had not yet released a statement by time of publication.