Raila Rejects Ruto's Election Win
Raila termed the actions of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman, Wafula Chebukati, as one that endangered the country's democracy.
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Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, has announced that he has rejected the election of William Ruto as Kenya's fifth president.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, August 16, Raila termed the actions of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman, Wafula Chebukati, as one that endangered the country's democracy.
He added that Chebukati broke the law by announcing the election results by himself.
"We were shocked to learn that Mr Chebukati decide alone to name the winner of the 2022 election. He denied all the commissioners access to the results.
"Yesterday August 15, our democracy suffered a major setback. As a result, Kenya faces a political crisis as a result of the actions of Wafula Chebukati," he addressed.
Raila claimed that the law on the commission requires that a decision on any matter should be decided by a majority of the members present, something Chebukati broke.
"The law on the IEBC provides that unless a unanimous decision is reached, a decision on any matter before the commission shall be by a majority of the members present and voting," he noted.
He termed the final results announced by Chebukati as null and void and called upon the courts to nullify them, including the Supreme Court.
“Our view in Azimio is clear. The numbers announced by Chebukati are null and void and must be quashed by a court of law. There is no winner or president-elect. That was gross impunity," he stated.
He further mentioned that the IEBC has been acting in biased ways before, and their conduct during the 2017 general elections led to the results of the polls being dismissed.
Raila further insinuated that barely two hours before the presidential election results were announced, Chebukati called a meeting and he informed the commissioners of the results he intends to announce.
He nonetheless commended his supporters for keeping calm and keeping peace and urge them to continue doing so, adding that no one should take the law into their own hands.
The August 9, 2022, general election was his fifth consecutive defeat, having vied in 1997, 2007, 2013 and 2017 and lost all of them.
In 2013, he contested the presidency but lost to the Jubilee alliance under the Uhuru Kenyatta-Ruto presidency. A petition to invalidate the elections that year was thrown out by the Supreme Court under then-Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, thus electing Uhuru Kenyatta as the fourth president of the Republic of Kenya.
Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga during the 'handshake' in 2018. /BBC
In 2017, he contested again and lost again to incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta. However, his petition to have the results nullified by the Supreme Court under then-Chief Justice David Maraga was successful, the first time in Kenya's history that it has ever happened.
However, Raila would later urge his supporters to boycott the repeat polls until the IEBC agreed to their demands. This led to Uhuru winning unopposed for his second term in office and amidst the tension that rocked the country, he went into the handshake deal with Uhuru in 2018.
