[2017] KEHC 2089 (KLR)

[2017] KEHC 2089 (KLR)

The court held that while the right to access information is constitutionally protected and applicable to election materials, such access must be reasonable, relevant, and sufficiently specific to assist the court in determining the validity of the election. The court found that the applicant's request for broad...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2017] KEHC 2089 (KLR)
Parties
Applicant: Amb. Ukur Yattani Kanacho; Respondent: Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC); Respondent: Arnold Mutwiri Njabani (Marsabit County Returning Officer); Respondent: Ali Mohamud Mohamed
Court
High Court
Court Station
High Court at Marsabit
Jurisdiction
Kenya
Case Number
Election Petition 2 of 2017
Procedural Posture
Election Petition / Ruling on Interlocutory Application for Access to Election Materials and Information
Outcome
Application partly allowed; orders granted in part as specified.
Judges
SJ Chitembwe
Legal Topics
Access to Information, Election Materials Preservation, Electronic Results Transmission, Scrutiny of Election Materials, Voter Identification, Right to Fair Election
Source Language
en
Election Petitions Constitutional Law Administrative Law Access to Information Election Materials Preservation Electronic Results Transmission Scrutiny of Election Materials Voter Identification +1 more

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Parties

Amb. Ukur Yattani Kanacho

Applicant

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)

Respondent

Arnold Mutwiri Njabani (Marsabit County Returning Officer)

Respondent

Ali Mohamud Mohamed

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Election Petition / Ruling on Interlocutory Application for Access to Election Materials and Information

  1. 1 Whether the applicant is entitled to access and scrutiny of technological and documentary election materials used in the Marsabit gubernatorial election.
  2. 2 Whether the request for access to information is too general or should be limited to specific polling stations.
  3. 3 Whether the right to access information under Article 35 of the Constitution and the Access to Information Act applies to election materials in a gubernatorial petition.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that while the right to access information is constitutionally protected and applicable to election materials, such access must be reasonable, relevant, and sufficiently specific to assist the court in determining the validity of the election. The court found that the applicant's request for broad technological information, such as server architecture and all KIEMS Kit data for the entire county, was overly general and not necessary for resolving the issues in the petition, especially where no specific polling stations were identified as disputed. However, the court recognized the applicant's entitlement to documentary materials (original forms 37A, 37B, 37C, poll book...

Court Disposition

Application partly allowed; orders granted in part as specified.

Orders

  • 1st and 2nd respondents to furnish all original forms 37A, 37B, and 37C from all polling stations and tallying centres in Marsabit County.
  • 1st and 2nd respondents to provide the applicant with copies of the voters' register used in the 8th August 2017 elections for Marsabit County at the applicant's cost.