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Sumra joins growing list of election petitioners


Former Embakasi South MP Irshad Sumra has filed a petition challenging the election of Mr Julius Musili Mawathe during last month’s general election.

Mr Sumra has blamed the Returning Officer for his defeat alleging that “a loser was declared as the winner and the winner the loser.”

In the court papers filed by lawyer Evans Ondieki, Mr Sumra is urging the court to declare the victory of Mr Mawathe as a nullity and order for fresh poll.

Mr Sumra, who defended the seat on an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), alleges that there was a serious mix-up of votes during the counting exercise at the Embakasi Girls Secondary School tallying centre.

The former MP is also seeking a retallying of the cast ballots to unearth electoral fraud allegedly orchestrated by IEBC officers.

IRREGULARITIES

“There were glaring irregularities of mixing of votes cast in my favour then counted in favour of my worthy opponent, Mr Mawathe,” Mr Sumra states in the petition he lodged at the Milimani High Court.

The controversial MP is further asking the court to direct a recount and retallying of the votes cast during the August 8, 2018 election.

He is further asking the court to call for the rejected votes to examine the extent which they were declared so.

“Some votes were being stamped rejected by IEBC officials while they were not,” Mr Sumra states in his sworn affidavit which he filed in support of the petition.

Lawyers prosecuting the petition state that two sets of the results were declared by the Returning Officer and it is not clear which of the two is acceptable and believable.

Mr Mawathe, who ran on a Wiper Democratic Movement ticket, was declared the winner after garnering 33,880 against Sumra’s  33,708 votes.