Kenya's president calls on court to dismiss election petitions against his win

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has called on the Supreme Court to throw out petitions challenging his election on October 26.

Kenyatta said in a statement on Sunday that the over ten petitioners’ claims were unsubstantiated and a waste of judicial time and resources, reports local news portal Daily Nation.

“Accordingly, it is deceitful and misleading for the petitioners to masquerade as bona fide defenders of the public interest,” he said in the statement describing them as agents of the main opposition party led by Raila Odinga.

The president accused the National Super Alliance (NASA) party of making unlawful attempts to stop the repeat elections which he won by 98% as a result of the opposition boycott.

The petitioners including opposition members and some civil rights activists are calling on the Supreme Court to nullify the outcome of the repeat polls citing supposed illegalities including the push for the amendment of the electoral laws, the holding of elections despite the withdrawal of the opposition and the skip of renomination of candidates before the polls.

The court has until November 14 to rule on the petitions. If it upholds the result, Kenyatta will be sworn in on November 28.

Uhuru Kenyatta won the October 26 repeat election with a total vote of 7.4 million (98% of total votes).