President Uhuru Kenyatta and Nasa presidential candidate Raila
Odinga have said they will concede defeat should they lose in the fresh
presidential election set for October 26.
Mr Kenyatta
said he had chosen to respect the Supreme Court ruling that nullified
his August 8 election victory and opted to return to the ballot.
He challenged Mr Odinga to concede defeat should he lose in the rerun.
“We respect the decision (of the court), even if we do not agree with it.
"Let
us wait for the ballot. Let’s get back to work… so that Kenyans can
decide and whatever they will decide, we shall accept it and move on,”
Mr Kenyatta said in his brief address to mourners who had attended the
burial of former Nairobi mayor Samuel Mbugua’s Marion Farm home at
Kirigiti, Kiambu.
Mbugua was the father of former Nairobi Woman Rep Rachel Shebesh.
SUPREME COURT
Earlier, Mr Odinga had said that should Mr Kenyatta defeat him in the fresh election, he would accept and move on.
Earlier, Mr Odinga had said that should Mr Kenyatta defeat him in the fresh election, he would accept and move on.
He
said this would not be the first time he would be doing so, since
during the 2013 election, he lost and after the court upheld Mr
Kenyatta’s victory, he accepted and moved on.
“Political
competitions are not wars. People campaign, fight (and) there are
winners and losers, and life continues,” Mr Odinga told the mourners.
“We
campaigned the last time (2013) then we contested in court, the court
made a ruling and we said we accepted and we moved on for the last four
and a half years.
“We are here again and I am sure we
are going to resolve these issues. Or if it’s my brother Uhuru (who will
win), I will accept the will of the people because I know if it’s me he
will also respect that.
"Uhuru is my younger brother,
and even the other day, I said that he should respect wazees,” Mr
Odinga, who was accorded a warm reception, said.
JUDICIARY
When it was his turn to speak, Mr Kenyatta said: “Raila has just said here that Uhuru should respect his elders. I always respect them, and I want to ask him to also respect the will of Kenyans.”
When it was his turn to speak, Mr Kenyatta said: “Raila has just said here that Uhuru should respect his elders. I always respect them, and I want to ask him to also respect the will of Kenyans.”
Mr
Odinga had been referring to the spat between the President and Chief
Justice David Maraga who heads the Supreme Court team of judges that
annulled the presidential election results.
President
Kenyatta and his deputy have criticised the court in light of the ruling
but have nevertheless accepted it and launched fresh campaigns.
The
two arch-rivals were sharing a platform for the first time since the
Supreme Court nullified President Kenyatta’s win on September 1.
COALITION GOVT
Mr
Odinga said that Mr Mbugua, a former city councillor, had served as the
chairman of the Orange Democratic party (ODM) Kiambu branch and that he
had gone there to bury him as a party member.
The burial was attended by politicians from both the Jubilee Party and Nasa.
The
only politicians who spoke were Jubilee governors Ferdinand Waititu
(Kiambu), Anne Waiguru (Kirinyaga) and Joyce Laboso (Bomet) as well as
Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja.
Governor Waititu asked
Mr Odinga to respect the Constitution by respecting the will of the
people, saying Kenya is a democratic nation where people decide who will
be their leaders.
“We all know that the former Prime
Minister really fought so that this country can have a Constitution that
will guide the running on this country (and) we are asking you (Raila)
that you follow the Constitution you fought for.
"Constitution
has said that the will of the people is superior,” Mr Waititu said,
adding that Jubilee leaders will not accept any attempts to have a
coalition government.
IEBC
Governor Waiguru also asked Mr Odinga and his team to respect the court decision unconditionally.
Governor Waiguru also asked Mr Odinga and his team to respect the court decision unconditionally.
She also asked Opposition leaders to tone down their rhetoric.
“The
only thing we can ask you former Prime Minister, together with your
Nasa people, is that you accept the judgment… You cannot select parts of
the ruling to accept the nullification of the election but refuse
another part that says it be repeated within 60 days because that’s the
only option we have, and we pray that you will accept the outcome (of
the repeat) so that we can move this country away from politics,” Ms
Waiguru said.
Ms Laboso said Kenyans were tired of
politicking, and asked the Independent Electoral and Boundaries
Commission (IEBC) to do the best within its powers to conduct an
election whose outcome will not be contested.
DEMANDS
Mr Sakaja said President Kenyatta would still defeat Mr Odinga because the same people who voted in August will return to the ballot.
Mr Sakaja said President Kenyatta would still defeat Mr Odinga because the same people who voted in August will return to the ballot.
Ms
Shebesh, who also expressed confidence that Mr Kenyatta would win,
cautioned leaders from the political divide against dividing Kenyans
along ethnic lines.
Later in the day, Mr Odinga called a
press conference during which he and other Nasa leaders said their
conditions must be met before he can participate in the next election.
While not rejecting the new date outright, Mr Odinga protested that he had not consulted.
“We have not received any communication from the electoral commission about the new date,” he said.
“Nasa remains ready for a contest with Uhuru but only when the irreducible minimums we have put out are met.
"With
every passing day, it is getting clear that the conditions will not be
met and so there will be no elections. We will not allow Uhuru to take
the country down the path of failed nations.”
CHEBUKATI
On Thursday, the electoral commission announced that the fresh presidential election ordered by the Supreme Court will be held on October 26, just five days ahead of the 60 days deadline set by the Constitution.
On Thursday, the electoral commission announced that the fresh presidential election ordered by the Supreme Court will be held on October 26, just five days ahead of the 60 days deadline set by the Constitution.
While announcing the date, IEBC chairman
Wafula Chebukati said the decision was taken to ensure the commission is
adequately prepared in light of the court’s full judgment delivered on
Wednesday.
Mr Odinga also criticised President Uhuru Kenyatta for his sustained attack against the Supreme Court judges.
“Ever
since the Supreme Court declared Uhuru Kenyatta’s so-called victory in
the August polls as invalid, null and void, Uhuru has been on an
ill-informed and extremely unfortunate war path with Kenya,” he said.
JUDGES
The Nasa leader said Kenyans will not allow the President to polarise the country ahead of the fresh poll with threats against the Supreme Court judges.
The Nasa leader said Kenyans will not allow the President to polarise the country ahead of the fresh poll with threats against the Supreme Court judges.
“If Uhuru will not stop, if he will not respect
the Constitution and particularly the independent Judiciary that
Kenyans fought so hard to bring to fruition, Kenyans are prepared to
stop him,” Mr Odinga said.
The criticism came just hours after the two had shown restrain during the burial in Kiambu.
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