’There is no point in going to an election where the outcome has already been determined’ – @RailaOdinga on withdrawal from Kenyan election pic.twitter.com/pTilPLKHmg
— Chatham House (@ChathamHouse) October 13, 2017
(Odinga) said on Friday his withdrawal from a presidential election rerun scheduled for Oct. 26 meant the poll had been “cancelled” and there should be fresh nominations for a new vote.
Odinga said that based on a 2013 Supreme Court ruling, Kenya’s Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) now had 90 days to accept new nominations following his withdrawal this week from the rerun against President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Kenyatta and Odinga were due to return to the polls because the Supreme Court nullified Kenyatta’s win in an Aug. 8 election, citing procedural irregularities.
But Odinga’s withdrawal this week has thrown the country into political turmoil.
The opposition leader said he could return to the Supreme Court to seek a clarification, but if the IEBC went ahead with the Oct. 26 election it would be “in breach of the law”.
“If it goes ahead it is not an election, it is a selection,” Odinga told Reuters in an interview during a visit to London. “This must be done right in the interest of electoral democracy in our country.”
As far as we are concerned, the elections are cancelled and we expect that the IEBC will return to the process of nominations shortly,” he said.
The Daily Nation has more details including criticism by Mr Odinga of international poll observers.
Here’s an excerpt from Raila Odinga’s speech yesterday:
And here is the speech in full via the magic of Twitter:
(1/2) My speech that I delivered at Chatham House today: 'Kenya's Next Test: Democracy, Elections and the Rule of Law'. @ChathamHouse pic.twitter.com/ByjYDOrawW
— Raila Odinga (@RailaOdinga) October 13, 2017
(2/2) My speech that I delivered at Chatham House today: 'Kenya's Next Test: Democracy, Elections and the Rule of Law'. @ChathamHouse pic.twitter.com/CZaVHztu2d
— Raila Odinga (@RailaOdinga) October 13, 2017
* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
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2 Comments
Isn’t the real problem that Kenyatta, like his father, represents the kikuyu while Odinga, like his father, represents the luo. Kenyan politics, when it first gained its independence, was essentially non-tribal with both Jomo Kenyatta and Oginga Odinga in one party. Where parties split along tribal lines, there is always the danger of genocide, as in Rwanda.
Could it just be that Mr Odinga knows he will lose any election – and not because it’s rigged – and therefore wants to cause as much trouble as possible in the hope it might get him more votes?