(MENAFN- The Maravi Post) Kenyan's Raila Amolo Odinga accepts results; exists politics after four presidential bid losses
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday shocked the country by withdrawing his candidacy for the fresh presidential election ordered by the Supreme Court, saying the election commission has not made changes to avoid the 'irregularities and illegalities' cited in the nullified August vote.
It was Odinga's legal challenge that led the court to nullify the election that President Uhuru Kenyatta won. It was the first time a court had overturned the results of a presidential election in Africa. The court ordered a new election, set for Oct. 26.
Kenyatta said the election will go ahead despite Odinga's withdrawal, telling supporters that 'there is nowhere the constitution says Raila Amollo Odinga has to be on the ballot.'
Odinga told supporters that 'there's no intention' on the part of Kenya's election commission to undertake any changes before the new vote. He said the commission had 'stonewalled meaningful deliberations' on reforms to ensure the election is credible.
He warned that the upcoming vote could be run worse than the first one was.
In response, the election commission said on Twitter that it was meeting with its legal team and 'will communicate way forward.' It also tweeted a letter it sent Tuesday to Odinga's opposition coalition saying that 'we have taken the necessary steps to guarantee the integrity of the fresh presidential elections.'
Odinga had called for countrywide protests to urge reforms to the commission ahead of the new election.
The Supreme Court on Sept. 1 nullified Kenyatta's August re-election, citing illegalities in the vote and the election commission's refusal to allow scrutiny of its computer system. Justices said that by failing to allow the scrutiny of the computers, the commission failed to disprove Odinga's claim that hackers infiltrated the servers and manipulated the vote in favor of Kenyatta.
Kenyatta has said he does not want changes to the election commission. His Jubilee Party has instead used its parliamentary majority to push for changes in the electoral law ahead of the Oct. 26 vote.
First Posted
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.