Kenya’s veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga has resolved to challenge the results of the presidential election held on Tuesday, August 9, at the Supreme Court today Monday, August 22.
Last week, it would be recalled that the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Boundary Commission, IEBC, Mafula Chebukati declared Deputy President William Ruto the winner of the election by a slim margin but four out of seven election commissioners dissented, saying the tallying of results had not been transparent.
This latest move to take a legal approach to address the alleged electoral irregularities, however, was disclosed to newsmen by Odinga’s legal team.
This is Odinga’s fifth attempt at the presidency. He had blamed several previous losses on rigging. Those disputes triggered violence where over 100 persons died in 2017 while more than 1,200 casualties were recorded in 2007.
However, in 2017, the Supreme Court overturned the election results and ordered a re-run, which Odinga boycotted, saying he had no faith in the election commission.
This time, Odinga is backed by the political establishment. President Uhuru Kenyatta endorsed Odinga’s candidacy after he lost confidence in Ruto in the last election.
At stake is who to control East Africa’s wealthiest but most stable nation, home to regional headquarters for firms like General Electric, Google, and Uber.
Kenya also provides peacekeepers for neighbouring Somalia and it frequently hosts peace talks for other nations in the turbulent East Africa region.
(Reuters)
