Kurzweil
JF-Expert Member
- May 25, 2011
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President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto will be sworn into office on August 29 if no petition challenging their victory is filed.
“The President-elect shall be sworn in on the first Tuesday following the fourteenth day after the date of the declaration of the results of the presidential election, if no petition has been filled,” Article 141 of the Constitution states.
The elaborate procedure with exact dates was meant to cure hurried taking over of power akin to 2007 when President Mwai Kibaki was sworn in at night.
Given that Uhuru was declared the winner of the presidential contest on August 11, the two weeks period provided in law will elapse on August 25.
However, the first Tuesday after the 14-day window falls on August 29.
But if a petition challenging their victory is filed in the Supreme Court, the swearing in ceremony would be delayed even further.
According to the law, a presidential petition must be filed within seven days after the date of declaration of the presidential results.
This means that Friday this week would be the deadline for filing such a petition. The seven-judge Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice David Maraga must dispense with such a petition within 14 days.
If the court declares the election valid, the President-elect would be sworn in after seven days following the verdict.
This means that should Uhuru’s victory be challenged, he would be sworn in on September 8 and only if the Supreme Court upholds the win.
NASA, which has bitterly contested Uhuru’s win, has declared it will not go to the Supreme Court.
“Going to court for us is not an alternative. We have been there before,” Orengo declared on Friday last week, rubbishing the IEBC results as “a charade and a disaster”.
According to the law, the swearing in ceremony must be in the country’s capital city Nairobi.
The day on which the President-elect is sworn in shall be a public holiday.
Source: The Star