Raila threatens boycott in row over poll officials

NASA Principals Raila odinga (left) and Musalia Mudavadi address the press at Okoa Kenya secretariat. Photo: Beverlyne Musili, Standard

Opposition chief Raila Odinga has maintained he will not participate in the coming repeat elections if those who bungled the August 8 poll are not removed.

The former PM has laughed off claims by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, that they won the last elections, saying the latest intrigues at the electoral commission point to the contrary.

Raila said a memo from Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati to CEO Ezra Chiloba over failures by the secretariat shows that some individuals manipulated the election results in favour of Jubilee.

"This memo from Chebukati to Chiloba now vindicates us. It is part of the evidence we took to the Supreme Court. When I see President Kenyatta running around claiming he won, I pity him. He didn't know what was going on. He was like a visitor in Jerusalem," Raila said after meeting leaders from Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Embu, and Isiolo.

Chebukati's memo to Chiloba, dated September 5, details numerous failures by the secretariat that formed a key part of the Supreme Court proceedings.

He has also demanded an explanation why the Kenya Integrated Elections Management System (KIEMS) kits used in the elections were not taken to specific locations, as had been agreed.

Flanked by Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi and Siaya Senator James Orengo, the NASA presidential candidate said the memo written to Chiloba shows there were Jubilee agents manipulating the figures at the server.

"The bare minimum we can take before participating in the repeat polls is a level playing field and a neutral referee," Raila said.

He added: "They did not win. We will not participate in any election as long as the playing field is full of thorns and stones and the referee is wearing the jersey of our competitor. No, we will not.

"Petitions being filed in court show this was not an election but pure theft of the will of the people.

"They subverted the will of the people and are now running around telling us how they won. Kenyans braved the cold weather, the scotching sun, only for some people to sit in a room and alter the results. This is criminal. Shame on you," said Raila.

He said 595 polling stations either failed or refused to send in their results for the presidential election to the national tallying centre.

Ballot papers

Raila's comments came as ODM lawmakers demanded that the tender to print the presidential election ballot papers be given to a new company.

Led by party chairman John Mbadi (South Suba), Otiende Amollo (Rarieda), Jared Okello (Nyando), and Opiyo Wandayi (Ugunja), the MPs said they had complained about the firm but were ignored.

"We opposed the tender to award to the Dubai-based firm Al Ghurair in court but we were overruled and now it has issues in regard to the bungled elections," said Amollo.

[email protected]