Odinga pulls out of Kenya poll rerun amid claims of vote fraud
KENYA’S opposition leader yesterday withdrew from the rerun of a presidential election that was voided by judges in August, tipping an already turbulent country into constitutional crisis.
Raila Odinga said he would not participate in the new vote on Oct 26 after accusing the electoral commission and President Uhuru Kenyatta’s ruling party of plotting to cheat him of victory for a second time.
Raising fears of renewed unrest after police killed more than 30 opposition protesters in the aftermath of the vote, Mr Odinga’s National Super Alliance coalition called supporters on to the streets with demonstrations under the slogan “no reforms, no elections” due to begin from today.
Mr Odinga, who has run for president four times in the past 20 years, said that ruling party loyalists in the commission had refused to make any changes after the supreme court cited widespread “illegalities and irregularities” in its historic invalidation of Kenyatta’s re-election.
“All the indications are that the election scheduled for Oct 26 will be worse than the previous one,” Mr Odinga told reporters in Nairobi.
“It is now clear that the same criminal enterprise that perpetuated the fraud in the August election is firmly in charge of the commission.”
By withdrawing from the vote, Mr Odinga said that the electoral commission was legally obliged to postpone the election for 90 days, giving it time to enact the changes he has demanded to ensure a free and fair outcome.
However, it is far from clear whether the opposition’s interpretation of the law is correct. According to Kenya’s constitution, a rerun must be held within 60 days of the supreme court’s ruling, a deadline that expires on Nov 1.
Mr Kenyatta insisted that the election must go ahead with himself as the sole candidate, prompting celebrations from ruling party supporters.
Kenya has grown increasingly politically and ethnically polarised since the supreme court’s decision, with the ruling party seeking to use its majority in parliament to force through legislation that would make it harder for judges to overturn Mr Kenyatta’s victory should he win again.