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Kenya’s opposition leader pulls-out of presidential re-run
Kenya’s opposition leader, Raila Odinga has reportedly pulled out of the forthcoming presidential re-run scheduled for this month saying he is stepping down to give the electoral commission enough time to introduce reforms that will help deliver a more credible election.
Speaking on Tuesday after announcing his decision to pull-out of the re-run scheduled for 26 October Odinga said; “We have come to the conclusion that there is no intention on the part of the IEBC [electoral commission] to undertake any changes to its operations and personnel… All indications are that the election scheduled for 26 October will be worse than the previous one.
As a result, he said, “considering the interests of the people of Kenya, the region and the world at large” it was best that he withdrew from the race.
Read also: KENYA: Police fire tear gas at protesters calling for sack of electoral commission
However, President Uhuru Kenyatta while speaking at a rally in Voi said; “We have no problem going back to elections. We are sure we will get more votes than the last time.
“We are also telling him it is the people’s right to choose their leader. It is their sovereign right to choose their leader of choice,” he added.
Only yesterday, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights revealed that no less than 37 Kenyan’s including a six-month old girl ‘clobbered’ by security agents have lost their lives in the protests that followed the announcement of the last elections result.
According to the human rights commission in a report on Monday, some of the deaths were caused by “police using live bullets” while others were killed by police “bludgeoning using clubs”.
In August, Fred Matiangi, acting interior minister, denied security services used live bullets or excessive force in dealing with protesters and blamed the violence on “criminal elements”.
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