Kenyan court overturns presidential election result, orders new vote

Sept. 1 (UPI) -- Kenya's Supreme Court has nullified the results of the country's August presidential election, and called for a new vote within 60 days.

The court ruled Friday to support the petition of presidential challenger Raila Odinga and his Nasa Party.

Odinga argued that electronic votes were hacked and manipulated to favor incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta, who won the election with 54 percent of the vote. The court blamed the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission for the irregularities.

Odinga rejected the results of the Aug. 8 election before a winner was announced, saying the IEBC imposed "computer-generated leaders" on the country.

Odinga, speaking after the ruling, called it "a very historic day for the people of Kenya and by extension the people of Africa.

"For the first time in the history of African democratization, a ruling has been made by a court nullifying irregular election of a president. This is a precedent-setting ruling," he said.

In court, Odinga's lawyers said the irregularities affected five million votes.

The two judges voting in opposition to the decision said the elections were free, fair, credible and watched by international observers. One, Justice Njoki Ndung'u, said that every election faces challenges and any seen in Kenya's presidential election were not deliberate or conducted in bad faith.

The decision was met with joy in the streets of the capital, Nairobi, where armed police barricaded streets leading to the Supreme Court on Friday.

Kenya has seen widespread unrest since the election, and human rights groups said at least 24 people had died at the hands of police since the vote, ITV News reported.