Opposition leader slams vote, plans more protests
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday harshly criticized an election rerun in which President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner, saying it should be scrapped in favor of yet another vote and that the opposition would continue to protest in the streets.
Odinga’s first public comments since election results were announced Monday suggested that Kenya’s political and ethnic tensions are unlikely to dissipate anytime soon. The opposition leader, who boycotted the Oct. 26 vote, hinted that his supporters could appeal to the nation’s highest court to nullify a presidential election for the second time since August.
“We shall see to it that we conduct a free, fair and credible presidential election as ordered by the Supreme Court,” Odinga said. “It’s in our best interests that we do so sooner rather than later.”
The court invalidated the Aug. 8 election in which Kenyatta was declared the winner after finding what it called “irregularities and illegalities.” Odinga, whose petition alleging vote-rigging led to the court’s ruling, boycotted Thursday’s vote because he said electoral reforms had not been made.
Kenyatta has said he expects legal challenges to the latest election, which he won with an overwhelming 98 percent of the vote because he faced no significant challenge.
The opposition also plans “economic boycotts, peaceful procession, picketing and other legitimate forms of protest,” said Odinga, emphasizing that demonstrations would be peaceful.
However, his supporters have often clashed with police in Nairobi slums and opposition areas in western Kenya since the latest election. At least nine people have been killed.