178 a. All Applications by a Respondent in an election petition, save in exceptional circumstances, should form part of the response to the Petition. Similarly, a Petitioner should as much as possible file any application arising from his Petition e.g. for scrutiny or recount at the same time as the Petition. b. Unless for want of jurisdiction or in any other deserving circumstance, a trial Court should exercise restraint in striking out a Petition or a response, where such an action is likely to summarily dispose of the matter. c. All applications for striking out an election petition for want of jurisdiction, or for any other reason, must be made and determined within the constitutional and statutory timelines for the resolution of electoral disputes. In this regard, it is for the trial Court, to make and enforce such case management orders, so as to meet this objective. d. Appeals on interlocutory applications, other than for striking out in circumstances explained in (b) and (c) above, should await the final determination of the whole petition before the trial Court. e. In exceptional circumstances, an appellate Court may dispose of an appeal arising from an interlocutory application filed and determined by the trial Court while the substantive matter is still ongoing at the trial Court. In doing so, the timeframe question as explained above must always be borne in mind. (Martha Wangari Karua v IEBC & 3 Others, Petition No. 3 of 2019, para 55) 6.2.3. Remedies 6.2.3.1. The Rules give the High Court power to grant the following remedies upon hearing of an appeal: (i) Confirm, vary or reverse in whole or in part the decision of the Magistrate’s Court; and (ii) Exercise the same powers as the Magistrate’s Court when acting as an election court, with the exception of making factual conclusions/findings. 6.2.3.2 Where the High Court orders the petition to be re-heard, it can only do so if the petition can be heard within the 6 months stipulated timeline for the hearing of the petition (Gerald Iha Thoya v Chiriba Daniel Chai & IEBC, Malindi Election Petition Appeal 1 of 2018; and Martha Wangari Karua v IEBC & 3 others, Petition No. 3 of 2019). 6.3. Appeals to the Court of Appeal 6.3.1.0 Before 2017, appeals from the High Court to the Court of Appeal were governed by the Court of Appeal Rules, 2010. The adoption of the Court of Appeal (Election Petition) Rules, 2017 provided more specifically for appeals under section 85A of the Elections Act. The 2017 Rules amended the practice of filing appeals in two ways. First, they require the Notice of Appeal to be filed within 7 days of the decision complained of (Rule 6). Second, they require the Notice of Appeal to be filed at the Court of Appeal registry or nearest sub-registry rather than the High Court Registry (Rule 2 & Rule 6(7), Court of Appeal (Election Petition) Rules, 2017). 6.3.2.0 The Court of Appeal has no jurisdiction to entertain a second appeal from a decision of the Magistrate’s Court in an election petition concerning the validity of the election of a member of the County Assembly (Hassan Jimal Abdi v Ibrahim Noor Hussein and 2 Others, Nairobi EPA No. BENCH BOOK ON ELECTORAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION