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2.4.4.9. The High Court has supervisory jurisdiction on electoral disputes that fall within the ambit of
the IEBC (Article 165(6) of the Constitution; and Jared Odoyo Okello v IEBC & 3 Others, Kisumu
Election Petition No. 1 of 2013).
2.4.4.10. The High Court also has jurisdiction in relation to violations of the Electoral Code of Conduct. If
after conducting investigations, the IEBC forms the opinion that there is need for further action
in relation to a violation of the Electoral Code of Conduct, it can either refer the matter to the
DPP or institute proceedings in the High Court under section 9 of the Electoral Code of Conduct
(Sabina Wanjiru Chege v IEBC, Nairobi Constitutional Petition E073 of 2022; and IEBC v Sabina
Wanjiru Chege, Civil Appeal E255 of 2022 (unreported)).
2.4.4.11. The High Court has appellate jurisdiction over decisions of the PPDT, on points of law and fact (s
41(2), Political Parties Act). The High Court also has an appellate jurisdiction over EDR decisions
of Magistrate’s Courts, limited to matters of law only (s 75(4) of the Elections Act, 2011). A person
seeking to appeal a Magistrate’s Court’s interlocutory decision to the High Court must await the
final hearing and determination of the election petition by the Magistrate’s Court.
2.4.4.12. Unlike the PPDT from which there is a statutory right of appeal, there is no express right of
appeal from a decision of the IEBC NDRC to the High Court (Dennis Gakuu Wahome v IEBC and
Others, Nairobi High Court Petition No. E321 of 2022 (Johnson Sakaja Koskei); Reuben Kigame
Lichete v IEBC & Another, Constitutional Petition E275 of 2022 (unreported)).
2.4.4.13. Where disputants apply for a review of the court’s orders as derived from an EDR judgment, the
court has held that such a review may only be granted to correct an ‘error apparent on the face
of the record’ (Bob Micheni Njagi v Orange Democratic Movement, Nairobi High Court Election
Petition Appeal No. 2 of 2017). It has previously been established that the ‘error or omission must
be self-evident and should not require an elaborate argument to be established’. (National Bank
of Kenya Limited v Ndungu Njau, Nairobi Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 211 of 1996).
Editorial Note: In light of the principles enunciated by the Supreme Court in
Sammy Ndung’u Waity v IEBC & 3 Others Supreme Court Petition 33 of 2018,
the High Court exercises jurisdiction over pre-election matters outside of
the framework for electoral dispute resolution given by the Constitution
and Elections Act. The fifth principle enunciated by the apex Court in this
case permits a litigant to present a pre-election dispute ‘for resolution to the
High Court, sitting as a judicial review Court, or in exercise of its supervisory
jurisdiction under Article 165(3) and (6) of the Constitution, even after the
determination of an election petition’. This creates the possibility of an
election issue being determined outside of an election court within the sui
generis legal framework established for the resolution of electoral disputes.
It also creates the possibility of electoral disputes being resolved outside the
6-month timeline established for EDR. As asserted by the Court of Appeal
in Annie Wanjiku Kibeh v Clement Kungu Waibara & Another, Nairobi Civil
Application No. E390 of 2021, the 6-month timeline for election appeals is not
applicable to such cases. While there is no clear point on the applicability of
the 6-month timeline at the High Court, save for cases brought under Article
105(2) of the Constitution, there is need for jurisprudential guidance from the
apex Court on how to reconcile expeditious disposal of electoral disputes with
the principles in Sammy Waity.
BENCH BOOK ON ELECTORAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION