Kenya Elections 2017: Raila Odinga Pull Out of Election Re-Run

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga has decided to withdraw from October’s election re-run.

Raila Odinga said his decision would give the electoral commission enough time to introduce reforms that will help deliver a more credible election.

The Supreme Court annulled the result of the original August 8 poll, which saw Uhuru Kenyatta declared winner, after finding irregularities.

However, Uhuru Kenyatta says he is ready to proceed with the new vote as planned.

Kenya’s electoral commission said Uhuru Kenyatta had won the August vote by a margin of 1.4 million votes – or 54% of the total, compared to Raila Odinga’s 44%.

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VP William Ruto has now called on the commission to declare Uhuru Kenyatta president as a result of Raila Odinga’s announcement.

The election re-run was due to take place on October 26, but Raila Odinga said on October 10: “We have come to the conclusion that there is no intention on the part of the IEBC [electoral commission] to undertake any changes to its operations and personnel… All indications are that the election scheduled for 26 October will be worse than the previous one.”

As a result, Raila Odinga said, “considering the interests of the people of Kenya, the region and the world at large” it was best that he withdrew from the race.

His coalition party believes the election will have to be cancelled as a result of his withdrawal, allowing “adequate time to undertake the reforms necessary to conduct an election that is in strict conformity with the constitution, the relevant laws and the constitution”.

However, Uhuru Kenyatta, speaking at a rally in the southern town of Voi, said: “We have no problem going back to elections. We are sure we will get more votes than the last time.”