Lawyers take part during the hearing of the presidential election petition at the Supreme Court in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Sept. 1, 2022. (Photo by Charles Onyango/Xinhua)
Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga who was the main petitioner in court challenging the result of the 2022 presidential elections said he respects Monday's apex court ruling to uphold William Ruto's win even though he does not agree with its findings.
NAIROBI, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga who was the main petitioner in court challenging the result of the 2022 presidential elections said he respects Monday's apex court's ruling to uphold William Ruto's win even though he does not agree with its findings.
The 77-year-old veteran opposition leader who was making his fifth presidential bid, however, said the landmark ruling by the Supreme Court's seven-judge bench is by no means the end of their movement while inspiring them to redouble their efforts to transform the east African nation into a prosperous democracy.
Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga (C) addresses the media in Nairobi, Kenya, Aug. 16, 2022. (Photo by Fred Mutune/Xinhua)
"We have always stood for the rule of law and the constitution in this regard, we respect the opinion of the court although we vehemently disagree with their decision today," Odinga said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
The statement came barely two hours after the Supreme Court dismissed consolidated petitions challenging Ruto as president-elect, paving the way for his swearing-in on Sept. 13 in line with the country's constitution.
The seven-judge bench in the majority said Ruto met the constitutional threshold to be declared the country's fifth president.
In a summary judgment delivered in Nairobi, judges unanimously dismissed consolidated petitions for lack of merit alongside a failure to meet the evidentiary threshold.
The ruling upholding Ruto as President was read by Chief Justice and President of the Judiciary Martha Koome who said the petitioners failed to prove that the voting exercise was marred by glaring irregularities that could have compromised the outcome.
Odinga, however, said their lawyers proffered irrefutable evidence to the court and that facts were on their side but regrettably the judges saw it otherwise.
"We find it incredible that the judges found against us on all nine grounds and occasion resulted in unduly exaggerated language to refute our claims," he said and thanked his supporters and Kenyans across the country for standing with his side.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Aug. 15 declared the 56-year-old Ruto as the winner of Kenya's presidential elections after garnering 7.17 million or 50.49 percent of 14.1 million legitimate votes cast.
Odinga trailed second after Ruto in the presidential race that attracted four candidates by garnering 6.94 million or 48.85 percent of the 14.1 million votes cast, according to the IEBC tally. ■
