Odinga vows action against ‘rigged’ poll
OPPOSITION leader Raila Odinga is to announce his post-election strategy today, following his claims that the Kenyan election was stolen from him – as violence continues to claim lives.
Odinga, who leads the National Super Alliance, is disputing the election results announced by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission on Friday which declared incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta the winner.
As many as 20 people have died in the violence since Friday night, including an 8-year-old girl, as Odinga’s supporters rioted in confrontations with Kenyan security forces.
Calling for his supporters to stay at home and not go to work, Odinga vowed to continue his campaign against last week’s election result which saw Kenyatta win a second five-year presidential term by a margin of 9%.
“We had predicted they would steal the election and that’s what happened. We are not done yet. We will not give up. Wait for the next course of action which I will announce the day after tomorrow,” he told a crowd of supporters in Nairobi’s largest slum, Kibera, on Sunday.
“But for now I want to tell you not to go to work.”
As he addressed the crowds, Kibera residents climbed on to rooftops and trees in a desperate bid to see the opposition leader who was speaking for the first time since his political nemesis, Kenyatta, was declared the victor on Friday in a poll Odinga says was heavily rigged.
Following the announcement of Kenyatta’s victory, protests broke out in western Kenya and in the Nairobi slums of Kibera and Mathare.
“This is a failed regime that is resorting to killing people instead of addressing the real issue. The vote was stolen. There’s no secret about that,” said Odinga.
His comments followed calls from the international community for Odinga to calm his supporters.
Fears of a repeat of post-election violence were raised several months ago following Odinga claiming rigging during the 2007 elections, which also prompted rioting, and retaliation by security forces, which sparked some of the worst ethnic violence in Kenya in years, leaving 1200 people dead.
However, a local election observer group, Elog, which deployed 8 300 observers and conducted a parallel tallying operation, determined that Kenyatta had won with 54% – the same figure given by the electoral commission.
Kenyatta urged the opposition yesterday to avoid violent protests and take any complaints they have over last week’s election to court. He also urged police to use restraint as they handled pockets of protests and anger that have erupted. – ANA and Reuters