There were discrepancies in the findings entered on forms 34A, 34B, and 34C, according to Julie Soweto, the attorney who is defending Raila Odinga and Martha Karua in the presidential appeal.
At the voting place level, presidential results are recorded using Form 34A. In contrast, Form 34B is a compilation of every Form 34A and is recorded in the constituency tallying center.
All forms 34B are combined into form 34C. The national tallying center keeps track of it, and the IEBC chairperson uses it to determine the results of the presidential election.
In her argument before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Soweto stated that the affidavit of a person named Arnold Oginga demonstrated how the findings from the three distinct forms 34 had variances of a whopping 34.
Forms 34A should produce results that are identical to those on forms 34B and 34C. According to Arnold Oginga’s affidavit, there is a mismatch in the results of 180,000 votes, she stated.
According to the attorney, the “small margin” by which Ruto was declared the victor of the presidential contest means that the 180,000 votes difference could tip the balance of the election.
Ruto received 7.18 million votes, or 50.49 percent, to be named the winner; Odinga received 6.94 votes, or 48.85 percent, to take second place.
Soweto also questioned why more people cast ballots for the president than for other candidates for elective office in a number of voting places, including those in Central Kenya and the Rift Valley.
In their answering document, the IEBC claimed that irregular voting, violence, and postponed elections in eight places led to more votes being cast for president than for several other positions.
According to the IEBC, a stray ballot is one that was accidentally cast in the wrong category, such as a marked MCA ballot that was cast in the governor’s ballot box.
The claim that erroneous ballots increased the amount of votes cast for the presidency compared to other elective positions, according to Soweto, was unpersuasive.
“For instance, there were 33 lost ballots on average per voting place in Kirinyaga County. Naturally, that is not conceivable,” she added.
