Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) vice chairperson, Juliana Cherera, has been accused of endorsing attempts to subvert the will of the voters in the just concluded August 9 polls where Deputy President William Ruto was declared president-elect.
In separate affidavits submitted before the Supreme Court on Saturday, August 27, IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati and commissioner Abdi Guliye noted that Cherera asked the electoral body boss to moderate the results in favour of a run-off.
Guliye stated that Cherera asked the commissioners to deduct votes from Ruto's tallies and add them to the rejected votes.
He explained that the move would have seen the country heading back to the polls as none of the four presidential candidates would have met the 50 per cent plus one vote requirement.
The commissioner added that Cherera made the request after a team from the Azimio la Umoja led by Executive Director, Rapahel Tuju, and former Busia Senator, Amos Wako, made similar requests.
Additionally, he expressed that they received a delegation from National Security Advisory Council (NSAC) that explained that a Ruto win would have plunged the country to chaos.
Guliye added that Chebukati, commissioner Boya Mulu and himself declined the request that was made by Cherera and supported by other dissenting commissioners.
"CEO Marjan (Hussein Marjan) walked into the boardroom with the final results and handed over a copy of the results to each Commissioner. A debate ensued. Four Commissioners Cherera and Commissioners Justus Nyang'aya, Irene Masit and Francis Wanderi protested and insisted that the results should be changed in light of the NSAC delegation's communication.
"Cherera suggested that the margin is not too big and could be manipulated by moving 233,211 votes from Hon. Ruto to the rejected ballots category. When my turn to speak came I told the Commissioners that I would not be a party to a scheme to sabotage the will of the people," Guliye stated.
On his part, Chebukati echoed Guliye's revelations as he added that his deputy's actions were against the mandate given to them in the constitution.
"I performed my duties within the narrowly circumscribed parameters of my duties as delineated by the Constitution and law. It is not true that I acted 'in isolation' or 'in contravention with Article 138 of the Constitution," Chebukati stated in his affidavit.
Earlier in her affidavit, Cherera had accused Chebukati for acting in isolation and not involving them in the verification process leading to the declaration of Ruto as president-elect.
