[2013] KEHC 6199 (KLR)
The court found that the preparation and submission of party nominee lists is an internal party matter, and any disputes arising therefrom should first be addressed through the party's internal dispute resolution mechanisms. Only if such mechanisms fail should the matter be escalated to the Political Parties...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- [2013] KEHC 6199 (KLR)
- Parties
- Applicant: Republic; Respondent: Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission; Interested Party: Margaret Nenkai Yenko; Ex Parte Applicant: Catherine Kimaren
- Court
- High Court
- Court Station
- High Court at Nairobi (Milimani Law Courts)
- Jurisdiction
- Kenya
- Case Number
- Judicial Review 239 of 2013
- Procedural Posture
- Judicial Review / Judgment
- Outcome
- application dismissed
- Legal Topics
- Judicial Review of Administrative Action, Electoral Dispute Resolution, Ultra Vires Actions, Procedural Fairness
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Republic
Applicant
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission
Respondent
Margaret Nenkai Yenko
Interested Party
Catherine Kimaren
Ex Parte Applicant
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review / Judgment
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the Respondent acted ultra vires its statutory powers under the Elections Act, 2011.
- 2 Whether the Respondent failed to consider relevant matters and acted unfairly in omitting the Applicant's name from the nominee list.
- 3 Whether the Applicant exhausted internal party dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court.
Ratio Decidendi
The court found that the preparation and submission of party nominee lists is an internal party matter, and any disputes arising therefrom should first be addressed through the party's internal dispute resolution mechanisms. Only if such mechanisms fail should the matter be escalated to the Political Parties Tribunal as provided by the Political Parties Act, 2011. The Respondent, IEBC, considered the material before it and made a decision based on the evidence and facts presented. There was no evidence that the Respondent acted outside its statutory powers, breached the law, or acted unreasonably. The Applicant failed to demonstrate that she had exhausted the available internal and...
Court Disposition
application dismissed
Orders
- The application is dismissed.
- There shall be no orders as to costs.
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
20 paragraphs
REPUBLIC OF KENYA
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KENYA AT NAIROBI
JUDICIAL REVIEW DIVISION
JR CASE NO. 239 OF 2013
REPUBLIC...........................................................................APPLICANT
VERSUS
THE INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL
AND BOUNDARIES COMMISSION...............................RESPONDENT
MARGARET NENKAI YENKO..............................INTERESTED PARTY
CATHERINE K.............................................EX-PARTE
JUDGMENT
The Ex-parte Applicant Catherine Kimaren, being dissatisfied with the decision of the Respondent, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in COMPLAINT NO. IEBC/NDRC/ PL/13/2013- SILVIA SIOLE NKAINATIE V TNA lodged these judicial review proceedings. According to the statutory statement dated 11th July, 2013 the Applicant faults the Respondent for allegedly acting ultra vires the powers donated to it by Section 34-37 of the Elections Act, 2011. It is the Applicant’s case that the Respondent failed to take into account relevant matters in dismissing the complaint she had raised before its Disputes Resolution Committee (the Committee). The Respondent is also accused of acting unfairly and arbitrarily by omitting the Applicant’s name for the TNA party’s nominee list for Narok County Assembly.
The application is opposed by the Respondent and the Interested Party (Margaret Nenkai Yenko). Their case is that the Respondent acted legally, reasonably and fairly and the Applicant has not established any grounds for the grant of the orders sought.
We have considered the arguments made by the parties herein and we find as follows:-
The issue of preparation and submission of lists to IEBC is a party issue and any dispute arising therefrom should be dealt with using the party internal mechanism for resolving disputes. Any dispute unsolved by the party’s internal mechanisms can be escalated to the Political Parties Tribunal created under the Political Parties Act, 2011.
The Respondent considered the material placed before it and reached a decision based on the evidence and facts placed before it. There is no evidence that the Respondent breached the law or acted unreasonably.
For the foregoing reasons, we find that the Applicant has not established any grounds for the grant of the orders sought. Her application is therefore dismissed with no orders as to costs.
Dated, signed and delivered at Nairobi this 12th day of July, 2013
MUMBI NGUGI, D. S. MAJANJA, W. K. KORIR,
JUDGE JUDGE JUDGE