[368] As for Forms 34A, the sampled 4,299 forms reveal that 481 of them were carbon copies, 269 were not stamped while 257 of the carbon copies were not stamped. 11 forms had no water mark while 46 of the photocopies were not signed. 58 forms were not stamped. Considering the sample size, it is apparent that the discrepancies were widespread. Did these discrepancies affect the integrity of the elections? (iii) The impact of the irregularities on the integrity of the election [369] Counsel for the respondents urged the Court to dismiss the petition, as this would preserve the will of the people who turned out in large numbers to vote for their preferred candidates. Our attention in that regard was drawn to the provisions of Article 38 of the Constitution, which is the embodiment of the political rights of the citizen. It was variously submitted that elections are about numbers and that they are about who gets the largest number of votes. Such irregularities as complained of by the petitioners, counsel submitted, could not in themselves overturn the sovereign will of the people. Further, if the quantitative discrepancies are so negligible (in this case, allegedly slightly over 20,000 votes), they should not affect the election; for in the words of one of the Prof. P.L.O Lumumba, Counsel for the 2nd respondent, “of small things, the law has no remedy”. [370] On the other hand, Counsel for the petitioners urged the Court to look at the elections as a whole, as a process rather than an event. To look at, not just the numbers, but the entire conduct of the election. Mr. Presidential  Petition  No.  1  of  2017                                                                                                                                                                                                            160  |  P a g e    

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