The High Court has thrown out a petition filed by Mombasa County deputy governor, William Kingi, who wanted the gubernatorial elections in the area scheduled for Monday, August 29 postponed.
The ruling made by Justice Stephen Githinji stated that postponing elections that were earlier suspended will not be in the interest of justice and the nation.
In addition, Justice Githinji noted that the dates were already gazetted, and the IEBC, other political parties and the voters were all set for the elections.
Kingi argued that the process used by the Independence Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to conduct the voting was unconstitutional.
The politician is vying for the Mombasa governor's seat on a Pamoja African Alliance (PAA) party ticket.
"Issue an injunction to spot the elections of August 29 pending hearing and determination of issues raised in the petition, " said Kingi's lawyer Mohamed Ali.
Responding to the matter, IEBC lawyer Titus Mutugi stated that other interested parties in the elections had not been notified of the application.
He added that the court could not issue any order without the views of other parties being considered.
“We were served with the application on Thursday at 4.24 pm. We have not had a chance to prepare a substantive response,” Mutugi lamented.
The Attorney-General, Kihara Kariuki, through his lawyer Emmanuel Matuko informed the court that Kingi's demands were 'drastic' and non-inclusive.
The Mombasa and Kisumu gubernatorial elections among other parliamentary elections were pushed to Monday, August 29 due to a printing mishap in the ballot papers.
IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati announced the changed dates from the previously scheduled date on Tuesday, August 23.
Due to this, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i has announced a public holiday in the affected areas.
