Cord seeks court order on IEBC, Safaricom for evidence

High Court Judge Isaac Lenaola has certified as urgent a petition by the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) that seeks to compel the electoral commission and Safaricom to give it information for its presidential election petition.Justice Lenaola directed Cord's lawyer Jotham Arua to serve the petition to Safaricom and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) before hearing on Wednesday at 8:45am.A statement released in the morning by the Raila Odinga secretariat had explained that the evidence being sought "will be integral ingredients in the CORD Petition challenging the purported declaration by IEBC of Uhuru Kenyatta as the President elect, which will be filed later this week."A Petition will this (Tuesday) morning at 11 am be filed at the High Court sitting at Milimani, Nairobi seeking orders compelling the IEBC and Safaricom Limited to furnish us with relevant documentation related to the recent Presidential Elections," the statement said.Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Issack Hassan on Saturday declared Jubilee coalition candidate Uhuru Kenyatta the winner of the presidential election.Cord’s Raila Odinga, who was second, rejected the results and said he would challenge them in court.The Constitution allows anyone dissatisfied with the results of a presidential election to challenge them in court within seven days after the announcement of election result.It also gives the Supreme Court 14 days to hear and determine such a case. The decision reached would be final. If the court rules that the election was invalid, a fresh one must be held within 60 days.Cord leaders Mutula Kilonzo, James Orengo and Anyang’ Nyong’o on Monday accused IEBC of failing to provide them with crucial documents they need to challenge the results of the presidential election.