Kenya presidential vote loser files Supreme Court challenge

The legal team for Kenyan presidential candidate Raila Odinga says it has filed a petition at the Supreme Court challenging his election loss last week

APTOPIX Kenya Elections (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Kenya's losing presidential candidate Raila Odinga has filed a Supreme Court challenge to last week's election results, his legal team announced Monday.

Lawyer Dan Maanzo told journalists on Monday morning that the petition to the Supreme Court has been filed online. Odinga is expected to deliver physical copies of the petition shortly. The court will have 14 days to rule.

Deputy President William Ruto was declared the winner of the very close Aug. 9 election. The peaceful election turned chaotic in the final minutes before the declaration when the electoral commission split and a majority of commissioners said they couldn’t support the results.

The dissenting commissioners and the chairman have traded accusations of misconduct, extending the uncertainty in East Africa’s most stable democracy.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, who backed former rival and longtime opposition leader Odinga against his own deputy, Ruto, still has not spoken publicly since he cast his vote. Kenyatta spokeswoman Kanze Dena didn’t reply when asked when he might make a statement.