ODM party leader Raila Odinga has dismissed proposals by Deputy President William Ruto that the Building Bridges Initiative referendum and the 2022 General Election be held on the same day.
Raila described the demands as unrealistic and claimed that it was a decoy the DP and his allies were using to conceal their opposition to BBI.
The DP and his lieutenants have been pushing for the country to have the two polls conducted on the same day.
The Ruto team has also set conditions they want the BBI proponents to implement before they declare full support for the document.
Yesterday, however, Raila who addressed journalists in Kisumu Town, said the calls were being driven by greed and that their demands were impossible.
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He accused the DP of not having “the guts” to come out to declare his stand in the quest to change the Constitution and was instead shifting to sideshows.
“He should just come out and say he is opposing the document,” said Raila.
While making reference to 2005 when he fell out with retired President Mwai Kibaki, Raila challenged Ruto to be bold enough on his stand on BBI.
“In 2005, I did not agree with former President Kibaki and I boldly said No,” said Raila.
According to Raila, the proposals to have the referendum and general election the same day was not possible as it would burden Kenyans and subject them to an examination-like electoral process.
He said the voting process is already overwhelmed by a number of ballot papers for the six contested seats, noting that adding a seventh would be disastrous.
“Having six ballot papers is already a challenge to some Kenyans. Adding another one will be a major challenge for them,” he said.
Critics of the referendum have also called for the introduction of multi-choice questions to some of the issues the BBI proponents are seeking to answer through the process.
They want the questions presented to voters on election day with voters left to answer to the areas of governance captured in the BBI process.
Raila, however, described the proposals as outrageous and disastrous, adding it would be a nightmare for voters if they were to be implemented.
“We already have voters who need help during the process. If you were to ask them questions, you will be subjecting them to an examination and that is not possible,” said Raila.
Raila also renewed calls for Kenyans to back the document and sought to highlight the gains to be achieved once the proposed changes to the Constitution are implemented.
He claimed that some lobby groups have been attempting to reach out to Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) to frustrate the initiative and said their efforts to undermine the document and the process was a waste of time.
According to the ODM party leader, the overwhelming response to the signature collection was a pointer to the strong backing of the process by Kenyans.
“We have started seeing organisations coming out to rally MCAs to reject the document. They are wasting their time. MCAs are Kenyans and they have already thrown their weight behind the document,” said Raila.
He said the BBI train was on and will be a game-changer in addressing the woes Kenyans have been facing.
Raila said the BBI proponents were now preparing for the next phase of the process after completion of the collection of signatures, adding that MCAs will have a big role to play in the process.
Governors Wycliffe Oparanya (Kakamega) and Anyang’ Nyong’o (Kisumu) said the BBI process will be a major boost for counties even as they lauded developments that are already taking shape in the country.
Oparanya said the devolved units were optimistic the process will help strengthen regional economic blocs, which have been struggling to get funding from the national government.
